


Masks

by TyChou



Category: SWAT Kats: The Radical Squadron
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Jake and Chance being BFFs, also monsters, multiple villain appearances, vigilante life vs domestic life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-10
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2019-10-25 21:14:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 62,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17732795
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TyChou/pseuds/TyChou
Summary: Jake and Chance are hired to work as bodyguards for a witness on a mobster's hit list. Being a vigilante is easy. It's the life without the mask that makes things complicated.





	1. Masquerade

**Masks**

**By: Ty-Chou**

**Chapter One: Masquerade**

Commander Feral stared at the building, frowning in the darkness of night. He couldn't shake the horrible feeling in his gut. Someone was going to die tonight and there was nothing he could do about it.

The Enforcers had been at a stand off since that afternoon when a bus full of kittens and teachers had been hijacked by an unknown group of masked kats. They had holed up in an uncompleted office building with their hostages, locking themselves up on the fourth floor. As best as Feral's intelligence could gather, there were at least three kidnappers, maybe four. All armed, all desperate and getting more agitated as the night went on.

They wanted money and a vehicle to make their escape. They wanted to take some of the kittens with them to ensure they wouldn't be followed. Feral couldn't give them any of those things. The Enforcer policy was strict, no negotiations with terrorists.

But if not negotiations, Feral wasn't sure what else could be done. There were children in there, someone's babies. Swat teams had surrounded the building on all sides, but there was just no safe way to get to them without putting lives in danger. There was nothing else to do but continue to drag out the stand off under the pretense of cooperation with the criminal's demands while the team continued to come up with some sort of plan.

"We're sick of playing around with you, Feral!" barked the kat over the radio Feral had been negotiating with. "There better be a truck for us in the next fifteen minutes or you're going to start losing lives here. One for each minute it's late. And it will be your fault, commander."

"Now hold on here," he replied as calmly as he could. "We're trying to get everything you asked for, but we need more time. Don't do anything hasty."

One of the windows on the fourth floor opened. The search lights caught the gleam of a gun before the ground was peppered with automatic fire. Feral dove behind his car for protection, along with his fellow officers.

"I'll be as hasty as I want!" the voice on the radio screamed. "Fifteen minutes, Feral!"

The line was cut.

The commander found himself almost wishing for the interference of the SWAT Kats. At least then he'd have someone who could break protocol and do something drastic. Then if anyone got hurt, he could hurl that anger at a failed rescue mission at them and not himself. But chances were the masked pilots would never show. They didn't come out for every little thing. It was the mutants, the time lords, the alien invasions that drew out the vigilantes. Whatever warning system the SWAT Kats kept in place to alert them of the large disasters, the smaller more intimate city crises slipped through the cracks.

There was a surprised shout and Feral snapped his head up to look where his officers were pointing. A search light moved as a form was spotted on top of another building. Who was that? Another armed kat? One of his own team? Feral was getting his goggles to try to identify the figure, but the new kat was already on the move.

The form was thin and quick, dashing across the rooftop and then springing suicidally into the air. Great, Feral thought for a brief moment. That was exactly what he needed now, a jumper.

But the body didn't fall. It swung through the air on a rope, flying right toward the building with the hostages. Feral watched with slack jaw as the form flew feet first through the same fourth floor window where the gun had fired. Glass shattered. The sounds of screams and gun fire echoed out into the street. Then everything went silent. The entire building was dark.

Feral tried the radio to hail the hijackers. No response. The Enforcers had no other option but to wait. Several minutes passed. Feral's whiskers twitched. Something needed to happen or he would go crazy.

Then the doors of the building opened. The Enforcers readied their weapons. Kittens spilled eagerly out the door followed by dazed teachers. Felina was at the front, rushing in with a few other officers to safely escort everyone away.

"Is anyone hurt?" she asked the nearest adult, a shaken she kat who looked to be in her fifties. "Anyone still left in the building?"

"No, everyone is fine," the teacher managed to say. "We're all here. Someone came in the window and took out all the armed kats and told us to evacuate."

Before Felina could ask anything else, something big and bulky was pushed out the window. There was a startled gasp when the Enforcers realized it was a group of bodies, but the bundle slowed as it descended, landing with only an uncomfortable jerk a few feet above the ground. Felina stared at the package, four kats in black, bundled together in a neat package. All out cold, hanging pendulously from the thick rope.

Another form hopped from the window, sliding gracefully down the rope. The captured criminals groaned as the kat landed lightly on top of them, but she did bother to remove her weight. The kat was clearly female: tall and thin, with gray fur. Thick blonde hair was pulled up in a pony tail and she was dressed in a blue and dark gray suit.

The she kat was masked, a smirk playing upon her lips.

"For you," she grinned at Felina, motioning down to the kats she stood upon.

Commander Feral pushed through the gawking officers to the front of the building. "You!" He punched an accusatory finger at the she kat. "Identify yourself right now."

"Hey, I know you," Felina announced. "You're that vigilante she kat from Purrson Heights." She turned to her uncle. "She appeared in the city about two years ago. They call her The Black Kat."

"I know you, too, Lieutenant Feral," the vigilante nodded back. "Congratulations on the promotion, but you're certainly missed back in Purrson Heights."

"I do my best work here," Felina insisted. It seemed to take forever to finally get that transfer to Megakat City. Her uncle wasn't going to promote her to lieutenant just because they were related. Nor would have Felina's pride allowed her to accept on that alone. She had to work her tail off to earn that promotion properly. And now that she was in Megakat City she was never going back to Purrson Heights. Not if her rich, disapproving parents were still waiting there for her. Not a chance.

"And you," the commander cut in. "You are not welcome here. It's bad enough that we have two reckless hotshots as it is. I should arrest you right now."

The Black Kat pressed her cute little mouth into a pout. "At least I'm much easier on the eyes than your fly boys."

"I'll say," one of the offers said as he raised his visor to eyeball the attractive she kat.

Commander Feral shot a glare at him and he immediately backed off.

"I'll say it again, vigilante, I have no tolerance for you," Feral then told her. "You are not welcome in my town. Get out or I'll run you out."

All the masked kat did was crouch down to be closer to his eye level. "Relax Commander, I don't plan to be here long. It's just a temporary visit. Some of our local scum has been shipped to Megakat for judicial processing. I'm just here to make sure everything goes smoothly and Vincent Bombay sees justice."

"The mob boss?" Felina asked. "The one who's up for trial next week?"

The Black Kat nodded seriously. "I've been working my tail off for two years trying bring that rat to justice. Any witnesses against him are infamous for disappearing or meeting rather suspicious and fatal accidents. He's been put in the paws Megakat City's judicial system with a hope that, this time, he won't fall through the cracks and they can make something stick. He's the worst kind of scum and he's dangerous, even behind bars."

"I'm well aware of who and what he is." Feral continued to frown. "We don't need your help. The Enforcers have everything well under control."

The Black Kat smiled again, nodding graciously. "Of course. Everyone knows Megakat City has the biggest baddies of them all. Only the best of the best Enforcers can cut it in this town."

Feral tried not to let his pride show as his ego was stroked.

"If my assistance is not necessary, I'll consider my visit to Megakat a mere vacation," the masked she kat went on. "But whether you like it or not, Commander, I will be watching."

Before Feral could offer a rebuttal, there was a mechanical whirr and the she kat was whisked into the air. The bright search lights were not fast enough to catch her getaway. Once her form was in the darkness, the lights were not ever able to catch sight of her again. The vigilante had disappeared into the night. Feral was not happy.

"This is the SWAT Kats' fault," he grumbled outwardly. "Soon every town on this planet is going to have its own costumed mascot." On the inside, he decided maybe he should look at the Bombay case more closely.

* * *

 

  
  


Jake stretched as he sat himself at the desk in the front office. His back was killing him. Four hours arching under a jet engine would do that. It was now Chance's turn to work on the Turbokat's repairs from their previous mission.

It was Monday, which meant only one of them could be down in the hanger at a time. Not that the salvage yard had many regular customers to speak of, but Mondays usually brought in cars involved in minor altercations during the weekend when they were closed. The salvage yard wasn't an official auto shop to begin with, but when Jake and Chance had taken it over, it had gone around through word of mouth that very skilled mechanics worked there who had fair prices and excellent service.

When the pair realized they could earn extra cash on the side, Chance had instantly brought in an old junker and began modifying it as a tow truck. Then he got them a business license and put their number in the phone book. They were under some title that expressed they would come out to tow any time after hours. They were usually up late at night playing around in the hanger anyway. It was those tows that usually brought in the most money. It had surprised Jake just how business minded Chance was.

But with any kind of business, time had to be sacrificed. In this instance, time away from the Turbokat to run the front office on the busy days. But Jake didn't mind it so much. It was nice to have that brief peek at a normal life before descending down into the surreal darkness of the hanger.

He still remembered those first weeks after discovering the large bomb shelter below the salvage yard. He recalled laying awake in his bed, knowing the skeleton of the Turbokat was laying in wait in the blackness below ground. It was like sleeping above restless monster and his eyes would stare at the ceiling for hours, excited; haunted.

But today was slower than most. No one had yet to come in. Jake was mostly just waiting for the unfortunate appearance of Burke and Murray to deliver their weekly supply of scrap and cackling grief.

He had sat himself in a worn but comfortable chair to read the morning's paper. The front page story was about the new vigilante in Megakat City. A female vigilante. The Black Kat, they called her. She hailed from Purrson Heights and had been on the prowl for a little over two years now. There was much speculation around what she was doing in Megakat City. She seemed to show up around the regular crimes: burglaries, drug busts, kidnappings. Unlike the SWAT Kats who only came out when the big bads reared their ugly heads and the Enforcers couldn't handle it.

The bell at the door signaled someone was walking in. Jake glanced up to see that it was neither Burke nor Murray, but a she kat. Perhaps they would be having a customer today after all. Jake only spared her a brief glance as she entered, trying to quickly read the current paragraph he was working on.

"Good morning, how can I help you today?"

"I'm looking for Chance Furlong. I was told he works here," came the response.

That caused Jake to put his paper down. How did this she kat know his partner's name? Maybe he picked her up on a tow sometime. It certainly wasn't unheard of for Chance to have she kats ask for him by name if they came by the garage. He gave out his business card to any she kat he fancied.

"Chance is busy right now. But if you need someone to take a look at your car, I can do that."

"Thank you, but this is a personal matter. I need to speak with Mr. Furlong. I don't mind waiting until he is finished."

"I see," Jake relented. He didn't like calling Chance up from the hanger when someone was at the garage, but it seemed like he didn't have a choice.

"Please take a seat. I'll see if I can get him."

"Thank you."

The she cat sat down and crossed her ankles, the very picture of serene patience. As Jake got up, he finally took a moment to really look at her. Had she been a normal customer, he probably wouldn't even have remembered her face after she was gone. She was average size, average looks. Slight ginger complexion with shoulder length reddish brown hair. If Jake had to sum her up in one word it would be professional. Everything about her was strait, smooth and spotless. Even the way she sat. She didn't seem like the kind of she kat Chance to give his number to.

Jake almost shook his head as he stepped out of the front office and into the back area which served as their living quarters. On the wall was a com system that led down to the hanger. Jake pushed the big red button.

"Chance, I have someone up here asking for you. Can you come up?"

There was the heavy sound of the rivet gun roaring through the speaker.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something Jake. Can't you take care of it?"

"They said they wanted to talk to you specifically. It's a personal visit."

"And who is that?"

"A she kat."

Chance's response sounded annoyed. "Does that she kat have a name, Jake?"

Jake sighed. "I'll ask." He wished Chance would just give it up and come up to ask the questions himself.

He poked his head back into the front office. The she kat was still sitting exactly how he left her.

"I'm sorry, can I get your name Miss..."

"Furfax. Tawny Furfax. Thank you."

Jake went back to the speaker. He could hear Chance already going back to work, not waiting for an answer.

"She said her name is Tawny Furfax."

There was a heavy clang from the speaker and then a few choice words from Chance. Then silence.

"Chance?"

Chance's voice was clearer this time. He must have gotten up to come up to the speaker.

"Say that name again, buddy?"

"Tawny uh... Furfax?"

More silence.

"Tell her to wait. I'll be right up."

"Roger."

Well, Chance obviously seemed to know this she kat, Jake decided. He idly wondered if she was an ex girlfriend by the way he reacted. Not that it was any of his business.

"Chance will be out in a few moments," Jake said as he sat himself back at the front desk and fiddled with his paper.

"Thank you," answered the she kat.

After a moment of silence, she nodded toward the paper in Jake's paws. "What do you think of that? An extra vigilante in your city?" she asked, referring to the front page story.

Jake turned the article toward himself. "Oh, I'm not really sure. But it's an interesting story."

"I'm from Purrson Heights as well. In fact, I just arrived to Megakat City today."

"Oh really?" Jake replied politely. "Any idea what she's doing out here?"

"I sure do," Tawny replied with conviction. "Look at page three, down at the bottom."

Jake flipped the pages of his newspaper and saw a story about some mobster named Vincent Bombay soon to go to trial.

As he glanced at it, the form of Chance Furlong hesitated in the doorway. He looked a little uncertain of what he would find in the front office as he wiped his paws on a stained rag. There wasn't any recognition on his face when he saw the she kat.

"Chance," Tawny greeted, standing smoothly, "It's good to see you."

Any question Chance had that this might be someone other than who he thought it was disappeared when she said his name. He just nodded at her.

"Personal business, huh?"

Her congenial smile turned into a thin line. "I'm afraid it is."

Chance inclined his head for her to follow him through the doorway into the modest space that was their kitchen/living room. For a moment, Jake felt a bit of embarrassment as he recalled the state of their living quarters. Full of empty milk cans, cereal boxes and dirty clothes. But she was Chance's guest and most of that mess was his anyway. Let him feel self-conscious over it, that is if he could bring himself to. Chance didn't get embarrassed over much. Either way, Jake was happy to stay up front at the desk reading his newspaper.

His left ear twitched when he heard the rumble of Chance's voice talking in the other room. The quiet, calm tone of the she kat he could barely hear at all as they conversed. At one point, Chance's voice rose in his usual volume when he heard something he didn't like. Then there was lower talking again.

Finally, the door opened and Chance poked his head out.

"Jake, come here for a moment. I gotta talk to you about something."

Surprised and curious, Jake got up and joined them in the other room. The she kat was sitting in one of their torn kitchen chairs, Chance was standing. The air in the room was serious.

"Tawny here has a business proposition for us."

The she kat stood and offered her paw. Jake quickly wiped his paw on his coveralls before taking it.

"Tawny Furfax, I apologize for not introducing myself properly earlier."

"Uh, Jake Clawson. It's... fine." Kats didn't usually talk to him like that. Jake wasn't exactly sure what the proper etiquette was for a response.

"So the two of you were partners," Tawny said. "I'm sorry to hear about what happened to the both of you. I didn't know." She glanced over at Chance. "I went to Enforcer headquarters to look up Chance's whereabouts. They, unfortunately, told me all about it."

"Yeah, so much for confidentiality," Chance huffed, eager to get off the subject of the past. "It's old news anyway and we're fine where we are. So Tawny, tell Jake what you told me."

The she kat settled her eyes on Jake.

"Quite frankly, Mr. Clawson, I'm looking to hire out bodyguards for myself while I'm conducting my business in Megakat City. My assistant insisted on a police escort so I naturally thought of Chance. But since you both are no longer with the Enforces and you have the proper background, I would like to hire you."

"Bodyguards?" Jake repeated. "Do you mind explaining to me, Ms. Furfax, exactly why you would be needing them?"

With a small motion, Tawny had a card in her hand and smoothy handed it to Jake. "Furfax Industries is one of the biggest privately owned technological engineers in the world just short of government owned facilities like Pumadyne. As CEO, that alone makes me a target.

"But my main concern while here is that page three story."

"The trial?" Jake asked.

Chance's face darkened with disapproval.

"I'm not allowed to go into the details, but I am going to be a witness at the trial. The Bombays are a very powerful mafia family, both here and in Purrson Heights. I've already had several attempts on my life, trying to scare me away from testifying. I won't sugar coat it, Mr. Clawson, if you take the job, chances are you will be in danger. I have already lost my previous bodyguards to gunshot injuries. No fatalities as of yet, but-"

"But there's always a first time," Jake responded.

"Yes."

Tawny reached into her purse and pulled out some papers, handing them to Jake. "My standard contract. Please take your time to look it over. I'm willing to negotiate."

Jake glanced over at Chance, wondering what he thought of this. The burly pilot's face was completely blank. Chance wasn't giving anything away. Jake turned his attention back to the contract. It looked pretty cut and dry. He had seen similar when he did some freelance security work out of high school. Jake skimmed most of it until he got to the offered pay. His eyes widened.

"That- that's a lot of money."

At this, Chance frowned a little. It was obvious the offered amount did not make him feel comfortable either.

"That is my standard pay," Tawny explained. "I assure you it's an appropriate amount for the risks involved. I will also be providing you with all the proper equipment: radios, bullet vests and such."

The room went quiet. Tawny seemed to be waiting for any further questions. But none came.

"I will leave you two to discuss it. If possible, I would like to have your answer by tomorrow morning." She nodded at Jake. "You have my card."

"I'll walk you out," Chance was quick to offer. He glanced at Jake, giving him a sort of wide eyed look as if unbelieving of the whole situation, then followed Tawny out the door. They walked outside toward her car. It was silver and generic. It looked like a rental. Not exactly the usual mode of transportation by a kat who claimed to be such big money.

"So if we say no, what is left for you?" Chance asked as Tawny fished for her keys.

The she kat smiled. "I've always liked that about you. You never beat around the bush."

"You do the same," Chance challenged. "Coming here like this, offering us money to get our tails shot at."

"Very true," Tawny admitted, but offered no apology. "Without the two of you, I'm back to relying on Enforcer escorts. Inconvenient, but I can work around it. Don't feel like you have to agree for my sake. I know I'm asking a lot, appearing out of the blue like this."

Chance purposefully avoided giving an answer. "If you're in so much trouble, what are you doing out here alone? Where exactly are you staying right now until we're officially under your employ?"

Tawny gave him a not so proper smirk. "You mean IF you decide to become under my employ? Because I'm sure you certainly haven't decided yet."

Chance didn't respond.

"I have made arrangements. As of yet, I'm not even officially in town. I will be okay until the press gets word of my arrival. Don't worry about me."

Again, Chance didn't say anything. Instead he shoved his paws in his pockets and kicked at her tire. He looked up when she patted his shoulder.

"It was nice to see you again, Chance." She looked him over, mechanic ensemble and all without any judgment. "You're looking really good."

He smiled weakly. "Thanks. You look..." he drifted off as he looked her over, unsure what to say.

She nodded. "I know. I hope to see you again."

Then the she cat got in her car and drove toward the city. Chance watched the cloud of dust in her wake long after she was gone, paws still in his pockets.

When he finally turned around, Jake was standing at the mouth of the garage, leaning against the frame.

"So are you going to tell me what that's all about?"

Chance walked past him and to a truck that had been waiting for a few parts to come in. "I don't even know what it's all about Jake."

On automatic, Chance lifted the hood and poked his head inside. Working on engines helped him think. He needed to think right now. Jake wasn't about to let him drift off just yet though. He dipped his head in as well to look Chance in the face.

"But you know that she kat that came in, don't you?"

It was suddenly annoying to have Jake so close and Chance frowned as he pulled away.

"Yeah, I know a she kat named Tawny Furfax. But not that primped up, blank social robot."

Jake waited, but his partner wasn't offering more. Now it was his turn to frown. He hated trying to fish information out of Chance when he didn't feel like talking. It usually ended up in an argument. Jake tried the broad approach. There was always time to get the smaller details later.

"So do you want to take this job or not then?"

The question surprised Chance enough to pull his head out of the engine and look at his friend with incredulity.

"Do YOU want to do it, buddy?"

"I'll do it if you want me to, Chance."

The fact that the leaner tom didn't even flick a whisker made Chance's mouth tick up a little.

"You're willing to get shot at for a stranger, Jake?"

He mirrored Chance's half smile. "Don't we usually get shot at anyway? For free? At least this time we'll get paid and we could use the money. The tow truck needs some specialty parts and it would put a significant dent in our debt with Feral."

Chance grumbled and slammed the truck hood down. "I don't know how comfortable I am taking her money. We have... history, it doesn't seem right."

Jake folded his arms. "Care to tell me about any of this history? Like how did you even meet Miss Big Business back there? I didn't know you even knew anyone with that kind of money."

"She wasn't always rich. They're family is new money. Really new money."

Chance shoved past him, through the door into the living half of the building. Jake wasn't given much choice but to follow. Chance headed for his room. Figuring he had something to show, Jake stayed in the door way.

Neither of them had much in the way of personal articles from the past. Chance kept his in a battered shoebox beneath his bed. That was exactly what he pulled out and rooted through the papers before handing Jake a faded photograph.

"There she is."

Jake inspected what he was given. It was a birthday party photo. Chance was easy to pick out. He was the only tom kat in the picture. He looked about twelve. Two older she kats stood behind him. The clear family resemblance told they couldn't be anyone else but his two older sisters. There was a she kat Chance's age standing on the other side; very tomboyish with jeans, T-shirt and reddish hair pulled hastily back.

Jake's eyebrows raised a little. "That's her?"

"Yeah," Chance frowned. "Doesn't look like her at all, does it?"

Jake looked at the picture again. There was another small she kitten in the middle of the picture, also obviously a Furlong, grinning happily over a cake with a big 5 painted on it.

"Is this..?"

Chance took back the picture and looked at it sadly. "Yeah, Cleo's fifth birthday. We tried really hard to make it special."

There was a pang in his chest as Chance recalled his little sister. He tried not to look at pictures of her too much. It still hurt. Poor Cleo. Chance had loved being a big brother while it lasted. But she was so small and always so sick. Nine candles were the most Cleo Furlong's cake ever saw before her tiny body finally gave up the fight to leukemia.

Jake slapped his friend on the shoulder. "Looks like we got no choice buddy. We gotta do it."

"Yeah..."

Chance took Tawny's business card from Jake when it was offered and looked it over. He really didn't have a choice at all.

When Chance called the number, it only rang twice before it was answered.

"That was sooner than I expected to hear from you," was how Tawny answered the phone.

"Yeah?" Chance said, a smile tugging at the side of his mouth despite himself. He knew Jake was probably listening somewhere. That kat had super hearing.

"I wasn't sure it was something you would go for, being "retired" and all from the exiting life of an Enforcer."

Chance leaned against the wall and lowered his voice. "You know I'd do this for you if you were in trouble. I don't want anything to happen to you."

Silence for a moment on the other end.

"I don't want anything to happen to me either. So then the contract looks good? To both of you?"

"Yeah, for the most part. There were a few things I wanted to discuss."

"I'm not lowering the pay."

Chance's jaw fell open for a minute. He didn't expect her to still know him so well. It took him only a moment to recover. "But you said you were willing to negotiate."

"I can go higher if you would like."

"No! That's not-" Chance rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Darn it, Tawny, you're still a stubborn pain in the tail."

It almost sounded like she was grinning on the other end. "I'm so happy you remembered."

Chance did not reflect her playful mood. Nor did he stop frowning long after he and finished discussing the job with her and hung up. Jake wisely kept himself away from his larger partner while he brooded and went back to work on the Turbokat. The leaner tom wasn't one to pry in personal business. Chance needed some time to stew in memories he obviously hadn't considered for a long time.

"So I do have a question about this new job of ours," Jake finally spoke up while they were watching tv later that night. "What if we're needed at our other _other_ job during our stint as freelance bodyguards?" He motioned with his head toward the hanger below his feet. "That contract didn't give a specific time frame as to how long we're going to have to tail your friend around."

Chance just shrugged, elbows resting on the back of the couch. "If the time comes, we'll improvise. Isn't that what we're good at?"

"You think we're going to be that lucky, that the city's going to stay quiet the entire time we're doing this?" Jake pressed.

Chance thought about it and then stood up. "I'm going to go work on the jet some more."

Jake got up to follow. "Yeah, I'm going with you."

* * *

 

It was an average part of Megakat City. Not too poor, not too rich, not really on any of the main streets. The three star hotel was tucked back from the traffic, hidden behind a gas station and a fast food joint. A she kat in an old beat up clunker of a car pulled up into the parking lot. She appeared middle aged, short black hair with brown fur that was graying around her face. She looked tired as she waited at the front counter, the face of a kat who had been part of the working class her entire life.

She was given a room with hardly a glance at her ID and the she cat trundled off to the elevator, wheeled luggage in tow. Once inside her third floor hotel room, the she kat parked her luggage next to the single bed and drew the curtains tightly closed. The full body mirror doubled as a closet door and the she cat regarded her appearance: aged and tired in frumpy clothes and worn shoes.

Moving to the bathroom, she flipped on brighter light to inspect herself more closely. With a hand, she removed the grayed wig from her head and bushel of curly brownish red hair sprung out. Tawny Furfax ran her fingers through her hair as she once again admired how the simple make up put so many years on her face.

She ran the faucet until the water was hot and proceeded to clean her facial fur. Once the gray was washed out, Tawny looked at her appearance again. The years had been magically washed away with her youthful complexion returned.

Her eyes, however, still looked aged. They were tired and haunted with a weight that no amount of make up could remove. Tawny sighed as she stared at them. Some days she did indeed feel so old. Sometimes she wondered if the fight was really worth it.

* * *

  
  
  


It was early morning. Too early to get up after repairing a jet all night long. But some rude noise wasn't allowing Chance to sleep in. His ear flickered at the harsh sound of the door buzzer. It wasn't even the buzzer for the garage, but the one for their front door on the opposite side of the building. What sort of idiot dropped in unannounced this early in the morning?

Chance heard the bedroom door next to his open and buried his face back into his pillow. Jake was a much lighter sleeper. Confident his partner was going to get the door, Chance fell back into a light cat nap. Only to be woken again a few minutes later by Jake knocking on his door.  
"Chance, get up and get dressed. There's someone here to see us."

"Ugh, why?" the yellow tom growled back. He was never a morning kat. Jake opened the door, in the middle of putting on a clean shirt himself. "A she kat is here on behalf of your friend. She needs to talk to us about the job."

Still growling a little, Chance dragged himself out of bed to comply. Come to think of it, Tawny had mentioned sending someone over in the morning for some reason. Chance couldn't recall what for. His mind had been on other things.

A bleary but fully dressed Chance Furlong finally shambled into the main room where Jake was waiting, far more bright eyed and bushy tailed than he. A she kat was waiting with him. She was roughly the same height and body type as the one who had dropped in the day before, maybe a year or two younger. Her fur was gray, black hair pulled back into a professional bun.

She extended a dainty paw as Chance came in. "How are you, Mr. Furlong? I'm Mayven Goldeneye, Ms. Furfax's personal assistant. I apologize, it appears I came too early? Ms. Furfax said you would be fine with the time. Maybe there was a misunderstanding?"

"Don't worry about it," Chance waved her off as he flopped on the couch without even taking her paw. He was already tired of prissy she kats dropping in on him unannounced. "We had a last minute project to take care of last night. What can we do for you?"

"I came by to give you a calendar of the next two week's events, every place that Ms. Furfax needs to be and where and when she will need security detail."

"And just exactly how long are we expected to be on security detail?" Jake asked as he looked over the paperwork and then back up at her. The young she kat was cute. And Ms. Goldeneye didn't actually have gold eyes, but bright blue ones. "The contract never gave a specific date."

"Ms Furfax currently is not sure how long she will need your services," Mayven responded brightly, her tone was not quite as severe and professional as her employer's. "But your contract holds no specific time frame. Any time you feel like the job is too dangerous, you are welcome to quit."

"Can I ask just what sort of danger we should be expecting?" Chance said dubiously, as if the worst she could offer would not be up to his standards.

"Any sort of danger," Mayven answered seriously. "There are only two eye witnesses left in this case, one of which is Ms. Furfax. There used to be six."

"What happened to the others?" Jake asked.

"Disappearances, shootings, bombs... one stepped in front of a train, you name it. And of course nothing could be proved Bombay was behind any of it, but we're pretty sure he's put a price on the heads of every witness at the trial. It's very possibly Ms. Furfax will have the lowest of the low from both Purrson Heights and Megakat City gunning for her before the trial."

Chance's expression softened. "This mobster guy sounds like he's over due for the slammer."

"Oh God, they have to convict him this time," Mayven blurted out, suddenly full of emotion. "They have to make it stick. This is our last chance. He can't slip through the cracks, not this time. We've worked so hard for this."

Jake moved in closer as she covered her mouth with her paws. "Did he do something to you?" he asked gently.

"He's done something to everybody," she replied darkly. Then she forced her professionalism back to the surface.

"But nevermind that, back to business. I brought some of your equipment." She produced a metal case, opening it to reveal an array of technological goodies inside. Jake's eyes widened with intrigue as he inspected their new private radios and then settled his gaze over the streamlined hand guns and holsters.

"Chance, check these out. They're top of the line," he said as he picked up one of the weapons and began fiddling with it.

Chance leaned in curiously, ears perked at the idea of new toys.

"The last thing I need is to take your measurements," Mayven said as she pulled a notebook from her briefcase.

"Why? Do we have to wear uniforms with our boss's logo, too?" Chance asked as he finally stood up.

Mayven unraveled a measuring tape, almost laughing. "It's not quite that bad. But you will need to be dressed professionally, and Furfax Industries will be providing your suits, We are also going to fit you for custom bullet vests. Plus you'll need tuxedos for tonight."

"Tuxedos?" both tom kats asked at the same time.

Chance finally got up and snatched up the paperwork from the table, eyeballing the calendar. He suddenly had the feeling he really had no idea what he had agreed to.

* * *

 

Before the pilots knew it, they had gone from half mechanics, half masked vigilantes to mechanic/vigilante/bodyguards. Mayven was a sharp she kat with a tight schedule. While her smile was bright and friendly, she took no shirking from the two new tomkats now under her boss's employ. The day was a whirlwind of information, schedules, preparations and her pretty much telling them how they were expected to spend every second of their day.

It was more than either tomkat was used to. They did things in their own way, on their own time. Not on someone else's tight schedule. Before either felt like they had time to take a breath it was already evening. The sun was going down and they were in a short limo, sharply dressed and parked outside a massive five star hotel. The building reached up to scrape the sky and lights glittered everywhere in the growing darkness of the evening.

Each pilot wore a sort of wide-eyed, shell-shocked look on their faces as they sat in the limo and waited. Chance was driving as always, Jake in the passenger seat.

"I think we'll have to close the garage for the next few weeks," Jake eventually spoke, the rest of his body still frozen. "There's no way we'll be able to do both of these jobs at the same time."

Chance suddenly came to life as he let go of the steering wheel and grabbed the previously combed fur on his head. "Ugh! What did we just agree to? We're pilots! Heroes! We don't have the time to do this kind of crap! We don't belong at some boring, snooty rich kat party! Why did we say we would do this? We're idiots!"

"You are the one who agreed to it, I just tagged along," Jake said calmly.

"I'm the biggest idiot of them all!"

"The suits are really nice, though," Jake continued, checking out his tuxedo. "And the bullet vest, it's so thin I forget I'm even wearing it."

"Like we're even going to need them where we're going," Chance grouched. "The place is going to be swarming with enforcers with so many rich, important mucky mucks in one building. A kat's not going to be able to twitch a crooked whisker there without getting arrested. It's going to be the safest place in town."

"But do you know who will probably be there?" Jake asked. "Callie Briggs."

"Yeah?" Chance perked up a little.

"Oh yeah. All the big government officials go to this thing every year. The mayor and deputy mayor will both definitely be there. Imagine Callie, all dressed up in a flowing gown."

Chance smiled slightly, a bit more amendable now as his imagination hit him. "Okay, so we'll make the best of it then."

"And we can always quit after this if we find it's not a good fit," Jake added pragmatically. "We don't have to keep doing this if we don't want to, remember."

At that statement, Tawny Furfax herself stepped out the front door of the hotel. She was dressed in a very subtle black dress that cut tight at her neck and wrists and flowed almost to the floor. The uniformed doorman tipped his hat to her as he opened the passenger door of the limo. The ginger she kat slid in and the door was closed behind her.

"Good evening Mr. Clawson, Chance," she greeted politely.

"Hey," Chance mumbled.

"Um, good evening," Jake quickly responded. He wasn't used to being so proper, but was raised to offer the same consideration given to him by any she kat.

His next response would have been to immediately compliment her on her appearance, but at glancing back, he found her not quite as elegant as he had expected her to be. Sure her hair was pulled up professionally and the black dress looked expensive. She wore make up and sparkling earrings, but everything on the she kat glittered more than the kat herself. Despite all the accessories, she was still as she was the day before in the garage: plain and unremarkable.

Jake immediately felt that was a mean thought. Maybe she was just normal. He was so used to picturing the deputy mayor when the idea of female beauty came to mind. In reality, he supposed not every she kat would measure up to the beauty and polish of Callie Briggs. Such thoughts bounced around in his head and made him forget about finding any sort of compliment to grant the she kat.

"You look stuffy," Chance said, glancing at her in the rear view mirror as he put the limo in drive and pulled out into the street.

"Chance," Jake hissed.

"It's a stuffy occasion," Tawny replied, taking no offense.

Neither of them said another word as Chance drove them the few blocks to their destination. It was hard to miss. The Megakat City capitol building was alive with lights, kats and music. Vehicles of guests were lined up as one by one they pulled up to the sparkling white steps to the equally sparkling edifice.

Young valets in sharp suits awaited to open doors and park expensive cars. Chance allowed himself out and dropped the keys into the valet's waiting paw.

"Don't scratch it," he said as if he did this every day.

Jake, stepping out of the front passenger seat, was impressed. He was expecting Chance to appear more uncomfortable with the unfamiliar setting. More like how Jake was feeling. But that was Chance. He did everything with the same confidence, no hesitation. No matter what needed taken care of from a blown engine to evil villains, everything was just business and Chance knew how to take care of business.

Jake opened the door for their female passenger and offered his arm slightly so she was welcome to take it or leave it as she preferred. Tawny gave only a slight nod, putting just the tips of her fingers on his arm and allowing him to escort her up the stairs. It wasn't much, but Jake still felt a bit light headed being in a tuxedo, escorting a she kat to a fancy place like this.

"Keep your head in the game, sure shot," Chance's voice told him over his radio ear piece. "Remember, we're here to work, not to party. Just because there are enforcers in every corner of the compound doesn't mean we should be off our guard."

"Roger," Jake said quietly. His brain instantly went into work mode.

He recalled the blueprints of the building Mayven had provided. All the emergency exits and security cameras had been highlighted as well as the position of every stationed enforcer on the grounds. Even if he didn't always have faith in the Enforces, Jake had to admit it would be nearly impossible for any unwanted kat to get through this type of security.

As they entered through the main doors, the massive ballroom spread out in front of them. The floors were of polished marble, the ceilings of grand architecture with dangling glass chandeliers, each sparkling like diamonds. Every important kat of Megakat City and beyond were dressed in their most extravagant and mingling out on the main floor.

"Wow," Jake found himself saying.

"Not used to these sort of things?" Tawny asked.

"Never been to one before," he admitted.

"You don't have to actually participate in anything, you just have to keep an eye out," she told him as if she were a bit jealous. Then she sucked in a deep breath, letting out the air slowly before abandoning Jake's arm and walking into the crowd alone. Kats were already recognizing her, welcoming her to Megakat City, eager to do business with one of the most successful technological companies in the world. There were several comments of I heard you were single, why don't you meet my son and my isn't that Bombay trial business just horrible?

Jake backed up to regroup with Chance.

"So how do you want to do this, buddy? I've ever actually been a body guard before."

"Neither have I," Chance shrugged. "But after facing off with mutated monsters and a future ruled by the Metallikats, how hard can this be?"

"Point taken. I suggest we play this by the book. Spread out and get the layout of the room. Make sure all exits are covered and all security personnel are where they are supposed to be. And, hopefully, not be seen by anyone who would recognize us."

"Nah," Chance huffed in dismissal. "I doubt anyone besides Feral would know our faces. They might know our names, but it's been too many years since we've been in the Enforces. We weren't even there long enough for anyone to get to know us before we got kicked out."

"Roger that," Jake said with a smirk. "Check out the place, avoid Feral. I think I can handle that."

The two split to survey the area. Chance purposefully to the route that led him near the hors d'oeuvre table. He was starving. Hopefully these fancy cats would have something edible and he could still look around while he munched. This job was cake.

Before he even got half way there, something caught his eye. Something dazzling that made his heart flip flop. There she was, captured in the light in all her brilliance. The deputy mayor, the she kat that often found herself within Chance's idle fantasies. His imagination couldn't compare to the real thing.

Callie's voluminous blonde hair was pulled way from her thin neck and shoulders. Her dress was deep blue and glittered like a cluster of stars in the depth of space. The fabric modestly covered her front all the way up to the collar bone and then plunged wickedly down the back.

What Chance wouldn't do to get his fingers on that back.

He adjusted his suddenly tight collar and took in a deep breath. He could do this. He could walk up to her in this fancy place and she wouldn't notice he didn't belong here.

Callie was speaking to a pair of elderly cats as Chance approached. Before he could even get close, she turned in his direction, instantly landing her green eyes right on him. It took her a moment. She squinted at him while he froze under her gaze, unprepared to be the center of her attention so soon.

"Chance? Chance Furlong? Is that you?"

"Guilty," he grinned, forcing his whole body to relax though his heart was clipping along a million miles a minute. Stay cool Chance, you can do this. You can have a normal conversation with Callie in a normal setting without the mask. Stay cool, buddy, you got this.

"I almost didn't recognize you," she admitted.

"Yeah, I know with the fancy suit and all..."

"Well that, and these contacts aren't really quite the same prescription as my glasses," Callie said, rubbing an eye. "Faces are a little bit fuzzy tonight."

Chance put on his best charming smile, whether Callie could see it clearly or not. "I have to say I think glasses look just fine on that pretty face of yours."

Callie took the compliment as if she received them all the time. She probably did. "Thanks. I'm more comfortable with them, too. Though I have to say, I'm surprised to see you here. It doesn't seem like the kind of place you would be invited to- oh gosh, that sounded awful. Let me reword that. You know, doing what you do- not that there's anything wrong with what you do. I appreciate your services personally um..." She paused. That sounded a bit awful, too.

Chance was fully enjoying being in her company. A flustered Callie was an adorable Callie. And it made her seem more real to see that she was capable of sticking her foot in her mouth just like everyone else. He decided to save her from further embarrassment.

"No, I completely understand what you mean. I can't say I'd come to something like this even if I was invited. I'm working security for a friend." He motioned to his ear piece.

"I didn't know you had the background for something like that, Chance."

"Oh yeah, I've had... a bit of training in that area." Chance wasn't about to tell her that he had been fired from the Enforces. That was something he hoped she would never ever find out.

"Not just a simple mechanic, I see," she teased. Was she flirting with him? "How interesting."

"Oh Chance, you're soooo interesting," a falsetto voice mocked over his earpiece. "Why don't you just keep telling me about your _interesting_ life because you are just _so_ interesting?"

Callie was still talking to him, but Chance couldn't hear a word of it with the obnoxious voice on the line. He politely held up a hand to her.

"Sorry Callie, I got someone on my radio. Give me a moment?"

"Of course, you're working," she quickly apologized. "I'm sorry to take up your time, you go ahead." She turned her attentions to other kats in the crowd waiting to speak with her.

Chance threw her a pained expression as he watched her go. Then he turned his back to the she kat of his dreams and growled on his radio.

"What?" he hissed to the radio.

"So now I'm just someone, huh?" Jake grouched on the other end. "I CAN hear everything you're saying you know. You didn't even tell Callie I'm here, too?" There was jealousy in his friend's voice.

"Yeah well, you didn't come up in the whole two seconds of the conversation before you butted in."

"Anyway, you should be working, not flirting. We're being paid to do a job, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," Chance sighed. "Not that anything's going to happen tonight. This place is locked up tighter than the federal mint. Any small time crook wouldn't even make it to the front door. As for the big baddies, you can usually when tell they're coming from a mile-"

All the lights in the room flickered as the sound of too much electricity crackled in the air.

"Aw, crud." Chance's crime fighting instincts instantly kicked in. He looked around for his partner to find Jake already by his side, his eyes sharp as he glanced around the room. The brown tom's brain was already at full speed, trying to come up with every contingency plan for anything and everything that may happen.

The guests let out startled sounds and looked around as the lights flickered. Then the entire building went dark and kats gasped and cried in surprise.

"Can't see a thing," Chance growled.

He felt Jake's calm voice next to him. "Wait for it, buddy. He'll come to us."

The lights flickered back on and a single extra guest was standing in the midst of them. The crowd gasped and surged back as the charged form of Hard Drive crackled with energy.

"Well, if it isn't the creme de la creme of Megakat City," HardDrive sneered. "Sitting up here on your fat cow, living off citizens' tax dollars while all the working kats are barely scrimping by. Well done."

He was answered by the sound of several Enforcer's flicking the safety off their weapons and aiming right for him. But Hard Drive continued to grin.

"Careful boys. You've got a lot of civilians here. You wouldn't want any bullets to miss their target now."

Commander Feral pushed his way through the crowd, bedecked in his formal dress uniform for the occasion. "Hard Drive! You've got to be some special kind of idiot to show your face around this many Enforcers. You won't be robbing any kat today."

"Oh I didn't come here to rob anybody," Hard Drive answered, strolling casually through the room. Every crosshair in the area was trained upon him and he didn't seem to mind. "You see I'm looking for someone. A very special kat." His glowing eyes settled on a frowning Callie Briggs who was standing proudly in front of several other nervous kats. He grinned wide in her direction. "My very own princess to be exact."

"He's going for Callie," Chance growled.

"On it," Jake responded.

He grabbed a silver platter from the hors d'oeuvre table and sailed it like a frisbee through the air. It collided against the far wall with a deafening clatter in the silent room. Everyone glanced in that direction, including Hard Drive.

"Go!" Jake hissed.

The two rushed over, moving like a well oiled machine. Chance moved first, fist colliding with Hard Drive's face so hard the villain stumbled back. Jake already had Callie in his arms, making them both disappear into the crowd with a rush. Chance was on his heels, covering their escape. Jake thought he saw a glance of their new employer as he raced by. Hopefully she wouldn't mind them saving the life of an important political figure before coming back to take out the bad guy.

Hard Drive was sitting on the floor, rubbing his jaw. "The Deputy Mayor has beefed up her security since last time." He laughed. A Hyena-type laugh that ricocheted off the rafters as he dissolved into energy.

The room went dark again. The whine of energy grew in intensity. The lights flickered. Several bulbs snapped and exploded all over the place, the crowd panicking. Then the lights returned to normal, the few that were still intact. Everyone remained tense and alert in the dim light.

At the back of the ballroom, Jake gently set Callie down on the floor, looking her over. "You okay, Callie?" he asked, trying to not use his professional "Are you okay, Ms. Briggs?" Razor tone.

Callie's eyes were wide, but not frightened. "Wow, you two are quite a team. Ever think of joining the Enforcers?"

The two toms glanced conspiratorially at each other but did not answer the question.

"Stay here," Chance said. "I'll check it out."

He moved back to the main part of the room, paw on the concealed gun in his suit. Eyes alert, ears twitching at the slightest sound. All Enforcers were also still on alert and the civilian kats were  
nervous. But nothing else happened.

After several uneventful minutes, Commander Feral took charge of the event and announced it to be over. Mayor Manx tried to argue with him, unhappy that he didn't get more time to solicit for supporting votes and election campaign funding as he would have liked. But he had to admit, safety needed to come first. He eventually allowed Feral to do his job. All kats in attendance were systematically asked if they had any injuries and then checked off the guest list as they left.

Callie was still in the building as the crowd dwindled. Jake and Chance kept a sharp eye on her while they searched for the one who had employed them to be there in the first place. The ginger she kat wasn't anywhere in the crowd.

"Hey buddy," Chance said as he approached the enforcement officer with the guest list. "We're looking for Tawny Furfax. Has she gone through yet?"

The officer looked him over once. Chance wasn't the only extra security detail at the party. Several high ranking officials and celebrities had personal security in attendance.

"Name?"

"Chance Furlong. Jake Clawson." He threw a thumb at his partner. "We're with her party."

"Nope, she hasn't gone through yet."

"Great, looks like we-"

"Furlong, Clawson," the booming voice of Commander Feral interrupted them. "I'm surprised to see the two of you here. The scrap yard doesn't keep you busy enough? You rent yourselves out for security?"

Chance tried not to growl at Feral's haughty expression. To an Enforcer, working security was the lowest you could get. He had to remind himself he couldn't be as mouthy to the commander as Chance as he could as T-Bone.

"A friend asked us to help out, sir."

"I see." The commander raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "And are you having difficulty locating that friend?"

Chance was about to tell Feral to go blow it out is nose when Jake grabbed his sleeve and tugged him back.

"Excuse us one moment commander."

"What?" Chance demanded when they were out of earshot.

"I just had a disturbing thought," Jake said quietly. "Hard Drive said he was looking for his princess."

"Yeah, and we made sure he didn't get near Callie, so?"

"Well Callie could be called the princess of Megakat City, but Hard Drive has never really been interested in the city. He just likes high tech toys. And isn't your friend pretty much the owner of the biggest cutting edge gadget company in the world?"

Chance slapped his paw to his face. "Cripes, we're idiots! I didn't even think..."

"Yeah, old habits, huh buddy?"

"So is there a problem or not?" Feral asked again, tired of waiting on them.

Chance growled but Jake stopped him from saying something he might regret.

"If she's missing, we have to tell the Enforcers. Her life is worth more than our pride."

"Fine," Chance huffed. "YOU tell the commander, Jake. I'm going to get the car." And go get the jet.

"Me?" Jake sighed. "Fine. Hey test this out for me, would you?" He tossed Chance a small remote control-sized device.

"What is it?"

"If anyone planted a bomb on the car, the light should turn red. If the bomb has a timer, the red light will flicker. If that timer is is close to going off, the device will start beeping."

Chance stared at the gadget and then at his partner. "Why did you build this?"

A shrug from Jake. "You see it in the movies, mobsters always put bombs under people's cars."

Chance rolled his eyes and headed for the door. After he was checked off the guest list he marched down to the valet station and grabbed the keys with a moody "I'll get it myself." Upon reaching the rented limo, Chance dubiously checked the new toy Jake gave him. No red light. He didn't think there would be. Just for the heck of it, Chance waved it at a few different cars. Nothing. Jake was brilliant, but sometimes his devices were just odd.

Shaking his head, Chance got in and pulled up in front of the capitol building to wait for his partner. A few minutes later, Jake trudged down the steps, not looking happy.

"Took you long enough," Chance said, taking off the second Jake got in.

"Thanks for leaving me with Feral," the brown tom shot back. "He pretty much told me I had no business working in security again and to get back to the salvage yard where I belonged while the Enforcers took over the missing kat case."

"Better you than me, buddy," Chance said as he ran a red light. "You know I would have probably said something that put us both in jail and then how would be take out Hard Drive?"

"Yeah, just get us home safely, hot shot," Jake said, clenching his teeth. "Or we'll have no choice but to leave it up to Feral."

* * *

 

Lieutenant Commander Felina Feral was having the best night of her life. There was a big, stuffy party going on that required a large number of Enforcers to attend and she didn't have to go. With her Uncle having mandatory attendance to the ridiculous thing, that meant Felina had to be on duty to cover any emergencies going on within the rest of the city.

The night had been pretty low key so far: a few domestic disturbances, a report of a stolen cell phone. One drunk call to 911 saying he couldn't find his remote. Routine stuff.

Not that Felina lost any courage in the face of the bigger monsters of Megakat City's underbelly, but she was a kat that enjoyed the little things in life as well. Just earlier that evening she got to rough up some teenage punks who had gotten wasted and decided vandalize an elderly neighbor's yard with baseball bats. Felina had the honor of personally putting the fear of God into those idiots.

All in all, it was a good night.

The phone on Commander Feral's desk rang and Felicia guiltily removed her feet from it. She was just testing it out for fun. Not that she was aiming for her uncle's job any time soon. She would love to work with him as long as he was in the Enforces. But make no mistake about it, when her uncle retired, Felina was dead set on making that job hers.

She just hoped the commander didn't mind a few boot scuff marks on his desk before it became hers.

"Lieutenant Feral," she said crisply as she picked up the phone.

"Felina, we've had a situation down at the city capitol building," Commander Feral responded, not even bothering to identify himself. He was the only one who dared call her by her first name. "Hard Drive crashed the party and we believe he may have kidnapped one of the guests."

"Let me guess, the deputy mayor?" Felina retorted cheekily.

"No."

Felina sat up straighter. "Tell me all about it, Uncle."

Now she was going to be on the prowl for a kidnapper. Her nose was already itching to get on the hunt. Depending on how this night ended, it just might be one of the most favorite nights of her career.

* * *

 

  
  


Tawny wasn't sure exactly what happened. One moment she was standing among the crowd in the ballroom. When the lights in the building went out for a second time, she felt someone grab her. There was a strange sensation of energy flowing through her whole body. It didn't necessarily hurt, but it made her skin tingle and her fur stand on end.

Then she was just suddenly somewhere else. In a different building, one with a dirty floor, cobwebs on the ceiling and massive generators lined up against the walls.

"Ah, there you are," a male voice spoke to her. There was Hard Drive standing before her, his coat still crackling with residual energy from the journey. He looked her over with glowing eyes, a wide grin on his face. "Like a diamond in the rough, look how you sparkle with brilliance. My beautiful princess."

Tawny glanced around, as if expecting him to be talking to someone else. Maybe some beautiful she kat who better fit the description was behind her. When she failed to locate anyone else, she pointed dubiously to herself. "Me?"

"Of course, it's you." Hard Drive stepped closer. "You are the one, my other half. The only one brilliant enough to become the partner of the infamous Hard Drive. I'm sure you must agree after witnessing my genius."

"I've never heard of you," Tawny told him.

"Never?" Hard Drive asked, finding it hard to believe.

She shrugged. "Sorry, I'm busy. I have a company to run."

He grinned. "Yes, you do. With the output of technical advancement rivaling that of even Pumadyne. Think of what we could do with all those lovely toys together, your company and my brilliant genius." He suddenly disappeared and then reappeared next to her. His close proximity caused her hair rise a little with static. "What do you say?"

Tawny pressed a thoughtful paw to her mouth as she looked him up and down. "Well, I already know the possibilities of what I can do with _my_ toys. The big question is what can you offer me?"

He laughed. "What can I offer? I'm Hard Drive! I could give you the very world if you asked for it, my dear. Money, power, jewels, whatever you wanted!"

"Yes, yes," she waved him off impatiently. "I already have money and all that. What I'm more interested in is you."

She moved closer and Hard Drive's eyes widened pleasantly.

"Interested in me, huh?"

"Mmhm," she nodded with a smile. Her body was so close to his now. She glanced over him up and down. "Did you build this suit yourself?"

"I sure did," he grinned, liking her eyes on him. They seemed to glow with their own light themselves. Golden yellow, like electricity.

"Take it off."

"Well now, can't resist me already huh?"

"I want to see the suit," Tawny clarified. "You claim you're such a genius, show me."

"No can do, beautiful. I don't take off the suit for anyone on a first date."

Tawny pulled back a bit, crossing her arms in front of her. "Look, you wanted my attention and you got it. Are you going to put up and show me the goods or are you afraid a tiny she kat in a stuffy dress is going to overpower you without your magic jacket?"

Hard Drive just grinned wider. He liked it even more when she was bossing him around.

* * *

 

  
  


The Turbot cat prowled the skies of Megakat City, all sensors alive, all her equipment listening. She was on the hunt.

"Anything, Razor?" T-bone asked as he gazed down at the city. It was getting late. Lights of different businesses were shutting down and there was no flicker of anything out of the ordinary to his eyes.

"Negative," Razor replied from the back. "All my instruments are picking up a big, fat zero. No energy surges, no anomalies. Nothing."

"Well keep an eye on it. Hard Drive's gotta make his move sometime."

"I'm picking up something on the Enforcer band. A tip has been called in on Hard Drive's possible whereabouts. Wanna check it out?"

"I guess," the pilot sighed. "We've got nothing else to go on right now. Probably a bogus lead but we'll at least do a fly by."

They were quite for a while as the jet changed course.

"You worried about her?" Razor asked.

"Of course I'm worried about her," T-Bone growled back. "Even though I hardly recognize her any more, I still don't want anything to happen to her."

"I'm sure she'll be fine, T-bone. Hard Drive is a thief not a killer. He'll probably hold her for ransom and when he makes his demands and shows himself, we'll nab him."

The Turbokat flew over the suspected area at the other side of the city. It would still be a good several minutes until the Enforcer vehicles would arrive on the scene.

"T-bone. I'm getting some weird readings going on down there," Razor reported from his instruments. "Not to mention we've got one building with its lights on compared to all the other abandoned buildings in the area."

"Knock, knock, Hard Drive," T-bone grinned. "We found you."

He landed the jet a few buildings down as not to alert the felon of their presence. Soon the SWAT Kats were skulking around the old building, searching for a way in. They gathered by an old door, still barely on its hinges. A weak stream of light spilled out from under it. As one, the two kicked down the door, glovatrix at the ready.

"Freeze Hard Drive!" T-Bone growled.

A startled she kat stared at them, her cell phone hovering at her ear. Then she glanced down to the unconscious tom sitting in the chair next to her. His arms were bound behind him by rusty wire and he was sporting a black eye.

Tawny pushed his shoulder. "Excuse me, Mr. Hard Drive. I believe someone is here to see you."

Hard Drive stirred, but did not come back to consciousness.

"I'll call you back later, Mayven," Tawny said to her phone and promptly hung up.

"Are you okay, Ms. Furfax?" T-bone asked, not taking his aim away from the unconscious Hard Drive.

"Fine," the she kat answered as if it were any other day. "This one isn't so bad." She nodded to Hard Drive's form and then straightened the garment she held in her arms.

"Woah, you got Hard Drive's surge coat away from him?" Razor said, impressed.

Tawny brushed the dirt off the bottom hem of the jacket. "It's my surge coat now. A consolation prize for my troubles."

The two pilots watched her parade toward the door with open mouths.

"I don't think she's allowed to take that," Razor said.

T-bone hurried to catch up with her. "Well we're glad you're not hurt. Can we give you a lift somewhere?"

Tawny carefully picked her way through the random debris on the floor and stepped out the open doorway. "No need. I called a cab a while ago. It should be here at any moment." She patted the surge coat with satisfaction. "And I've got something to keep me warm if it gets chilly."

T-bone was frowning after her when she paused and turned back to him as if forgetting something important.

"Oh, and it's a pleasure to meet you, SWAT Kats." For the first time, she finally got that 'my, it has been a strange night' look on her face before a taxi did indeed pull as if the whole thing had been staged.

"By the way, I also called the Enforcers. You shouldn't have to watch Mr. Hard Drive too long before they get here," Tawny said as she stepped into the cab. "Tell them they are welcome to schedule a time with my personal assistant tomorrow if they have any questions."

The taxi drove off and the Enforcers arrived soon after. Razor had tied up Hard Drive a bit better in time for their arrival.

"Hey there guys," Felina greeted them, looking the most relaxed and content the vigilantes had ever seen her. "He's already all wrapped up for us, huh?" She paused as she looked at the sky, peacefully chewing on a toothpick. "Definitely been a good night." She'd soften the punk up a bit for her uncle before questioning. Just as a consolation prize for having to go to that stuffy party.

* * *

  
  
The SWAT Kats didn't stay much longer after letting Felina know that Tawny Furfax was found unharmed and had provided her own ride away from the crime scene. They immediately returned to the sky as Hard Drive was marched into a prison truck.

"So what do we do now?" Razor asked when they were almost home.

"What do you mean? Hard Drive's in custody and Tawny's safely on her way home. What more is there to do?" T-bone wondered.

"Well, T-bone and Razor know Ms. Furfax is safe, but Chance and Jake don't."

T-bone suddenly felt a headache coming on. "This bodyguard stuff is more complicated than I thought."

The Turbokat landed and the two pilots jumped out to recover their tuxedos.

"Okay, here's the plan," Chance said. "We get dressed, grab the limo and-" His cell phone started ringing and he rooted around in his black slacks to locate it.

"Hello?"

"This is Mayven Goldeneye, I just spoke with Ms. Furfax a few minutes ago." The friendly tone in the assistant's voice was gone. "The two of you are fired."

"What?" Chance barked.

"You will receive one full day's pay each. Expect your checks in the mail in three to five days."

"Now listen a minute, we-"

"You can leave the limo at the garage. We'll send a driver for it in the morning. Good night."

The line went dead.

"We just got fired!" Chance announced to Jake's curious expression.

"Woah," his partner commented. "Of all the crazy stuff we've done, who would have thought that being bodyguards is the one thing we'd fail at?"

Chance got a determined look on his face and dialed a different number on his phone as he picked up his tuxedo. Two rings and the call was answered.

"Hello." Tawny's voice sounded like she knew exactly who's calling.

"Are you serious?" Chance jumped right in. "We're fired? Just like that? And you don't even bother to tell me yourself?"

Tawny sounded just as perturbed as he was. "I paid you a large sum of money to do one job and you didn't do it. You know who did try to do your job? The SWAT Kats. For free! Maybe I should hire them! Do you realize I was KIDNAPPED tonight Chance? And where were you, huh?"

Chance winced as her voice rose in pitch the angrier she became. It also robbed him of his own anger. She was right.

"Look," he said in a softer voice as he attempted to keep the phone to his ear while he dressed. "I'm coming over to your hotel, okay?"

There was no answer.

"You can keep me fired if you want, but I'm coming over there. You deserve an apology in person."

She sighed on the other end. "Tonight? I'm busy."

"Busy with what?" Chance challenged. "It's the middle of the night."

Tawny let out another heavy sigh. "Fine. I'll be here."

"I'll be over in twenty minutes."

Now fully dressed back in his tux, Chance climbed the ladder to the garage.

"Should I come with you?" Jake asked, still half way out of his flight suit.

"Nah, stay here," Chance called down. "This is just between us."

Roughly twenty-five minutes later, Chance was in front of a hotel room door, fiddling with the collar of his tux. Why did he put this monkey suit back on again? He hadn't be thinking about wearing something comfortable, he was just trying to get out to the city.

Tawny opened the door and the smell of pizza filled his nostrils. She was dressed in flannel bedtime pants and a t-shirt. The makeup was washed from her face and her curly hair was pulled back in a sloppy pony tail. For the first time she actually looked like the kat he used to know.

"Didn't get enough of that fancy food at the party?" Chance asked, nodding to the slice of pizza in her paw.

"I'm starving," she said unrepentantly with mouth full of hot cheese. "I haven't had a chance to eat anything since this morning."

Chance's stomach growled. He hadn't had any dinner either. Tawny walked in and angled the open box in his direction as silent permission to help himself. Chance shut the door behind him. He took a slice and leaned his hip against the table, looking at his food.

"Hey, I'm sorry for what happened tonight. With all the Enforcers around, the last thing anyone was expecting was a visit from Hard Drive. I can't predict the future, Tawny. I did what I could."

She was sitting on the bed and immediately looked unconvinced. "Yeah, I saw you do what you could for the deputy mayor real well. Even though she was neither the target nor was she the kat you were hired to protect."

"I'm sorry about that, but you don't know how it is around here. That poor deputy mayor practically walks around with a target on her chest. We saw one of Megakat's big bads and we just assumed she was the target. Believe me, Tawny, if I had known you were the one in danger, things would have gone differently."

"You seem to know a lot about the deputy mayor," she said suspiciously.

"She's a client of ours. But back to you. I'm glad you're safe and if I could do it all again differently, I would. Now, do you want to give Jake and I another chance at this?"

Tawny lowered her gaze. "You have something blinking red in your pocket."

Chance lowered his brows at her in confusion.

"In your pocket," she repeated, nodding in his direction.

Chance dug through is pants and pulled out the device Jake had given him earlier. The light was flickering red. It began to beep and his eyes went wide. Jake never mentioned exactly how much time he had when it started doing that.

"Tawny watch out!"

The device started beeping faster.

"What?" she asked.

"There's a bomb in the room!"

Her eyes went wide. Chance grabbed her and jerked her off the bed, reacting on full instinct.

The room exploded.

 

 


	2. Impostor

**Masks**

**Chapter Two: Impostor**

  
  
It was getting late. The Litterbin show was almost over when Jake got a call on his cell. He assumed it to be Chance, but the call wasn't from his partner's number.

  
"Hello?"

  
"Hi, Jake Clawson?" said an unfamiliar female voice.

  
"Yes."

  
"This is Tina at Megakat Memorial Hospital. I'm calling on behalf of Mr. Chance Furlong."

  
Jake sighed. "What did he do?"

  
"He didn't do anything Mr. Clawson. He was in a hotel room when a bomb went off."

  
"What?" Jake sat up straight, fumbling for the TV remote. He clicked it over to the news channel to see Ann Gora's face covering two bomb explosions that night at different hotels. "Is he alright?" He was already fumbling around the place, looking for the keys to the truck.

  
"He's in stable condition, but he--"

  
Jake cursed when he flipped over a couch cushion and dropped the phone. The call was disconnected, but he found his keys. He would get the rest of the information himself at the hospital. Dashing to the tow truck, he heard his forgotten cell phone ring again somewhere in all the random garbage in the living room. He made a sound of frustration and then just decided to leave it. He needed to get to the hospital now.

  
Jake turned on the truck's turbo speed until he hit the city streets, but even then it didn't seem like he could get there fast enough. By the time he made it to Megakat Memorial, all sorts of horrible ideas were haunting his mind.

 

Stable, she said. Stable was the word they used when a very wounded kat was currently not dying. All Jake could picture was Chance wrapped up in head to toe, red stains leaking through the gauze. Currently not dying, but who knew if that would change by the time he got there.

  
When he ran to the front counter, Jake was wide eyed and out of breath. The receptionist was only slightly surprised to see a kat so urgent. He probably wasn't the first desperate customer she encountered on a daily basis at her job.

  
"Chance... Furlong," Jake panted. "Where is he?"

  
The receptionist typed on her computer and then smiled at him. "Mr. Furlong is in room 306. You can take the elevator right there up to the third floor."

  
Jake was gone before she could even finish her sentence. He raced to the elevator and impatiently punched the button several times. When the doors didn't open fast enough he raced for the stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time to the third floor.

  
The door to room 306 happened to be open and he flung himself inside, preparing for the worst.

  
"Chance!"

  
Within the room there was no battered, blood soaked body. Chance was sitting on an examination table, shirtless and pants dirty and damaged beyond repair. His back was toward the door. His obviously singed shoulder and back were being bandaged by a doctor. The older tom kat looked up at Jake's cry.

  
"You must be Mr. Clawson."

  
"Is he okay?" Jake blurted even though it was obvious Chance was.

  
"Aside from a few bruises and burns, he'll be alright," the doctor confirmed with a kind smile. "I don't know how he did it, but Mr. Furlong somehow had enough notice of the bomb to get himself and his companion into the bath tub before it went off. The tub protected them both from much of the explosion."

  
Chance still hadn't turned around. The doctor put a hand on the burly tom's shoulder and Chance finally looked up.

  
"Your friend is here," the doctor said into his face.

  
Chance finally looked toward the door and noticed Jake's state of distress.

  
"OH HEY BUDDY," he said in an unnaturally loud voice. "SORRY YOU HAD TO GET A HOSPITAL CALL LIKE THAT. I WOULD HAVE CALLED YOU MYSELF BUT I CAN'T HEAR A THING AFTER THAT EXPLOSION. THE DOC SAYS I'LL GET MY HEARING BACK IN A DAY OR TWO."

  
Jake winced at the volume.

  
"AM I TALKING TOO LOUD?"

  
Jake made a motion of lowering the volume.

  
"How's that?"

  
It was still louder than normal, but Jake gave him the OK sign.

  
"I'll give you two some time to talk," the doctor said. "He can usually understand what you're saying if you look directly at him when you speak. There's also a pen and paper on the counter if you need it."  
Jake thanked the doctor and then grabbed a chair to sit in front of his friend.

  
"That bomb detecting doodad you made really saved our tails, Jake," Chance told him.

 

"You know me, I do what I can. I'm just glad you still happened to have it with you, buddy."

  
Chance was already shaking his head at his partner. "I know the doctor thinks I can tell what you're saying, but I just kept nodding my head at him. I don't have a clue."  
Jake took his turn to shake his head.

  
"Look, can you do me a favor Jake and go check on Tawny? We didn't realize how serious this was. Someone wants her dead big time and with my equipment malfunctioning right now-" He paused to jam a finger in his ear as if that would help his hearing to return, "I'm not the best bet for guard duty at the moment."

  
Jake gave him a thumbs up. "Roger that, I'll look after her. Good to see you're okay, buddy." He gave Chance a pat on the back, knowing full well his partner didn't get a word of that. Then waved him off before heading out the door.

  
Once in the hall, Jake allowed himself a deep breath. He didn't realize how much he had been trying to mentally prepare himself until the crisis was over. They had both talked about it now and again. The many near brushes with death kept it on their minds constantly. While Jake never would have guessed he would lose Chance over a hotel bomb with all the other craziness they had encountered over the years, the possibility one of them would go out on a mission and never come back was very real.

  
Jake's analytical mind had already been going over what it meant for the future of the Swat Kats if Chance was either killed or wounded so badly he could never fly again. It was terrifying to consider suiting up without him. There were no SWAT Kats with just one kat. Though they've never said it out loud, Jake knew that the second one of them was gone, the SWAT Kats would be no more.

  
Fortunately, that crisis would not happen tonight. Jake needed to focus on the task at hand.

  
Tawny's room was easy to find. It was located just down the hall and had an armed Enforcer stationed at the door. The mere presence of the guard made Jake wary. He was used to seeing enforcing officers with his mask on and never with his mask off. It made him feel almost naked to approach without his alter ego to protect him.

  
"Name?" the officer asked.

  
"Clawson, Jake."

  
The officer checked his list of approved personnel to enter. "Oh, you're the other bodyguard. Hey your partner did a great job tonight. Ms. Furfax is lucky the guy's built like a brick wall. He took most of the damage. Do you know if he's ever thought about joining the Enforces?"

  
Jake fought the urge to roll his eyes at the second time he was asked that evening. "I'll be sure to bring it up to him." He nodded and stepped through the doorway.

 

The first thing Jake noticed was that the curtain had been pulled around the bed for privacy. The second thing he noticed was Commander Feral's stentorian voice coming from behind it.

 

“Kidnapped and nearly killed all in the same night, Ms. Furfax,” Feral lectured. “I highly suggest you reconsider Enforcer escorts. Those two idiots you hired clearly had no idea what they were doing. There's a reason they don't work on the force any more."

  
"One of those idiots saved my life tonight, Commander," came the prim reply. "I would be dead if Chance hadn't been there."

  
"Very lucky," Commander Feral agreed. "But luck was all it was. The only other witness in this trial was killed tonight and you were very close to joining him. Bombay has a price on your head, Ms. Furfax and they are pulling out all the stops to make sure you don't survive until trial. If you don't listen to reason you're going to get yourself killed and possibly your two bodyguards as well."

  
There was silence for a while.

  
"I'll take it under consideration, Commander," Tawny said softly.

  
"In the meantime, I am putting an armed escort at your hospital room until you are discharged. At the very least, Furlong is not qualified to work until his hearing returns."

  
"Yes Commander, that's fine. Thank you for coming to see me."

  
Feral's voice grew a bit softer. "We need you alive. I don't want to let this scum get away with what he's done any more than you do."

  
There was no answer from behind the curtain, but the commander emerged from behind it. Jake immediately wanted to disappear in the tall kat's wake. Why was it that all it took was leaving his mask at home to be uncomfortable in Feral's presence? The commander, for his part, merely gave Jake a dark parting glance before parading out of the room.

  
In the silence that was left, Jake moved up to the curtain, clearing his throat so the kat behind it would know he was there.

  
"Um, hi. It's me, Jake."

  
"Mr. Clawson," Tawny's voice lightened. "You can come over."

  
Jake gingerly moved around the curtain. Tawny was sitting in the bed, a blanket across her lap. She was still wearing her dirty pajamas from the explosion. Her t-shirt held a small smudge of blood, Chance's. By all appearances the ginger she kat didn't have a mark on her, save for the nice black eye that was starting to develop on the left side of her face.

  
"Chance sent me in to stay with you. Nice shiner."

  
Tawny gave a soft, embarrassed sound as she lightly touched her bruised flesh. "Thanks. Your friend gave this to me when he shoved me into the bathtub."

  
" _My_ friend?" Jake responded playfully. "You knew him longer than me."

  
Tawny chuckled quietly as her gaze drifted off, reliving those few terrifying moments all over again. She didn't even know they were in danger, but somehow Chance knew. She remembered him grabbing her and slamming her into the bathroom. She was shoved into the tub, banging her face on the side, his weight on top of her, smothering her. He was so heavy. Then there was a deafening noise. The whole world was shaking and falling around them, but Tawny was safe between the porcelain and Chance's strong body. He had saved her life, risking his own, even though he was no longer on her payroll.

  
"Anything I can get for you? Food? Clean clothes maybe?" Jake asked.

  
Tawny waved him off. "I just want to sleep tonight. Mayven's bringing me clothes in the morning."

  
Jake sat himself in a chair facing the bed, leaning forward on his elbows. "Look, I'm sorry for everything that's happened tonight. Chance is, too. We screwed up. We thought we could handle anything that came our way and we were unprepared. I completely understand if you're through with us."

  
"To be honest, I'm still trying to figure out where to go from here." She gave a rueful smile and then tiredly rubbed her face. "This is all my fault Chance got hurt. I usually check the room. I always search it for bombs, bugs, anything. But tonight was just so crazy, I didn't even think."

  
Jake watched her in concern. "Just how long have you had to live like this?"

  
Tawny dropped her paws and leaned back against the pillow, looking fatigued. "Too long," she whispered. "I get so tired of this. Of being afraid for my life. Never getting any sleep. Always wondering what might be out there waiting for me in the darkness."

  
It was the first time Jake really felt he understood where this she kat was coming from, what sort of life she had been living. This really wasn't the monsters and mutants he was used to fighting. In a way, it was worse. Instead of blatant attacks, it was something relentless and deadly that constantly plotted for this poor kat's death. If Jake and Chance were to continue to protect her, they would need to step up their game.

  
Without really thinking, Jake reached out to touch the she kat, his hand swallowing her delicate wrist. "You can sleep tonight," he said seriously. "I will watch out for you."

  
She stared at him, looking into his dark eyes, knowing he meant it. For the first time in a long time she dared herself to feel safe.

* * *

  


Tawny didn't want to sleep. She was used to only napping lightly to keep an eye out for trouble. But tonight she could not keep herself out of the heavy blanket of deep slumber. Her mind and body were done after all that had happened that night. They needed rest. She needed to gain her strength back so she could continue to fight.

  
It was well passed dawn when Tawny opened her eyes. Her lids were heavy, begging to sleep in further, but she couldn't afford to not be aware of her surroundings any more. Any second she was not alert made her unable to defend herself should someone come for her. A quick glance around the hospital room showed everything was the way she left it, no obvious danger in sight.

  
Chance had come in sometime during the night and flopped into a chair. Tawny had been too deep in sleep to hear him. The yellow tom was snoozing silently, dead to the world. It was good to see he was okay enough to sleep at such an awkward angle.

  
A brown furred form caught Tawny's attention out of the corner of her eye. Jake was still sitting in the same chair he had been the night before. Only now, it was turned to face the doorway. The curtain had been drawn back so not to obscure the entrance to the room. Jake did not move a muscle, but he wasn't asleep. His eyes were wide awake and he was staring intently at the closed door as if daring someone to come through it to try to harm the kats under his care.

  
Tawny's mouth ticked up slightly. She was tempted to ask him if he had been like that all night, but she already knew the answer. Seeing this helped to sway her indecision. Tawny knew she could trust these kats with her life.

* * *

  


Commander Feral had been right about Chance's hearing. Until it returned, he wasn't fit to guard anyone. Jake could have gone back on duty, but he wasn't sure how smart it would be to leave an antsy Chance alone in the garage. His hearing was already coming back after having a good night's sleep, but he needed at least twenty-four hours until it would be good enough for him to hear and understand a voice over the radio as per requirement.

  
Until then, Tawny was placed under Enforcer protection. After she was discharged from the hospital she would have a uniformed escort when she went to meet with her lawyer to prepare for the trial. It was only a day away and they needed to be prepared. After the meeting she was going to be escorted to an undisclosed location, guarded under lock and key for the night.

  
Despite having the day off of bodyguard duty, Jake and Chance kept the garage closed. They had their minds on other things. Chance especially was itching to get out and do something. So the two pilots suited up and put on their masks. They took the Turbokat out to the desert area several miles outside of Megakat City's limits.

  
There was an obstacle course the two pilots had built themselves. It had taken so long to put together, the SWAT Kats just decided to leave it there for convenience sake, wondering if any local authorities would tear it down. They never did. In fact, Enforcer pilots often played around the obstacle course themselves. The SWAT Kats never knew if those pilots had Feral's permission to do that or not.

  
That afternoon they had the course to themselves. There wasn't much talking as the team went through their usual exercises. Chance was able to hear Jake when they were in a quiet room and he was speaking loudly. But trying to speak to T-bone while in the Turbokat's noisy cockpit was a bit more difficult. T-bone couldn't understand him at all on the radio. When Razor tried to talk to him over his shoulder, he had to yell it a few times before T-bone caught what he was saying.

  
So the two settled into companionable silence. T-Bone spoke the most when necessary, knowing Razor could at least hear him. The two were so used to working together, they didn't need to communicate much to know what the other was doing. Before they knew it, it was starting to get dark and they were running low on missiles. It was time to head home.

  
"I'm going to do a run over the city before we call it a night," T-Bone announced.

  
Razor wasn't surprised. The explosion in the hotel had really rattled his partner. It had shaken both of them. It had been so long since they had been in danger without the masks on. The other witness to the trial had been killed last night. The kat they were supposed to protect could have also died. Chance could have died-- not T-Bone.

  
And now the Enforcers were doing their job of keeping Tawny safe while someone was out there plotting their next attack. T-Bone hated letting others do his job, he always did. He was a hands on kind of kat. Doing a sweep of the city was all he was able to do that night. Hopefully it would be enough to settle his nerves and get him a good night's sleep. Then tomorrow, he would be ready to work.

  
The city looked normal in the fading light of dusk. No explosions or fires of any kind. Only one set of police lights were noticed on their sweep: an officer pulling over a speeder. Maybe this time the skulking evil in the city would keep to itself and everyone would stay safe for one night.

  
Razor's head swung to the side as he noticed movement on a rooftop.

  
"Huh? What's that?" he wondered to himself.

  
He reached to tap his partner on the shoulder. T-Bone turned and Razor pointed to the roof tops.

  
"What's that buddy, you see something?"

  
"I think I saw somebody down there. Can you turn around and get closer?"

  
"Say that one more time?"

  
Razor grabbed his shoulders to pull him back and speak loudly in his ear. "GET. CLOSER."

  
"Roger that. Circling around."

  
The Turbokat banked to fly by the same neighborhood again.

  
"There," Razor said. He reached forward and tapped on the glass so T-Bone could see what he was looking at. There was a form racing on foot over the rooftops, legs long and lean. Long blonde hair trailing behind her. "I think that's the vigilante she kat that's supposed to be in town."

  
"Razor, look! I think it's that vigilante that came to Megakat City."

  
"That's what I just said," Razor grumbled, knowing full well T-Bone wouldn't be able to hear him.

  
The form on the rooftops had stopped, noticing the jet. She watched the sleek black machine hover in the sky for a moment.

  
"What do you think she's up to Razor? Think she's got a lead on anything?"

  
Razor opened his mouth to respond, then closed it again when he remembered T-Bone wouldn't hear a word of it.

  
The she kat below took one last look at the jet and jumped off the top of the building. She disappeared in the shadows of the alley and away from the pilot's sight.

  
"I guess we lost her," T-Bone said. He let the jet hover for a few more moments just to see what would happen.

  
There was a flicker of light as a motorcycle jetted out of the alley and down the road.

  
"Woah, there she goes."

  
Razor tapped T-Bone on the shoulder, pointing in his vision. "Follow her."

  
The Turbokat easily caught up with the ground vehicle below. T-Bone tried to use the fading light to their advantage, trying to keep the black, silent jet of of sight from the motorcyclist. He felt the familiar jerk at his feet as Razor moved his seat back to access the hatch below. T-Bone knew exactly what he was up to.

  
"Razor, if you go out in the Cyclotron, it's possible I won't be able to pick you up. If I lose visual I might not be able to hear you on the radio."

  
"So I'll drive back to the hanger, don't worry about it."

  
T-Bone smirked at him. "Sending the lady a personal welcome to Megakat City? Gives a new meaning to the term speed dating."

  
"Shut up," Razor said loud enough that he hoped his partner heard him. "My throat's getting tired from yelling at you anyway." He was getting to the point where he would have given his left whiskers just to speak to someone who could hear him properly.

  
A few moments, the red bullet-shaped form of the Cyclotron emerged from the belly of the jet and wheels squealed as they hit the blacktop. Razor raced in the direction the other motorcycle had gone, enjoying the wind in his fur. He found his target not too far ahead, waiting at a red traffic light.

 

Razor pulled up in the lane next to her, immediately getting the she kat's attention. Her bike was obviously a custom job. The design was light and streamlined, obviously built for speed. Unlike the Cycotron which was built with heavy armor and full of unpleasant goodies for bad guys.

  
The masked female flipped up the visor of her helmet when she noticed Razor and watched him suspiciously. Maybe she thought he was going to give her an unpleasant reception for being in his city. But all Razor did was rev his engine in the universal signal at he was game to race if she was. Though he was doubtful as to how well she would do against him on that teeny little bike.

  
A smile tugged at the side of the she kat's mouth and she flicked her visor back down, revving her own engine as well. The light flicked green and the she kat was suddenly gone. Razor was left staring at her skid marks before he took off after her. Of course a bike that light would get a starting advantage. The heavy Cyclotron was slow to start in the first few seconds, but it had the raw power to catch up quickly and he was soon right back on Black Kat's tail again.

  
Razor was confident he had the power to pass her up, but he didn't try. He was more interested in the chase. The kat in front of him glanced behind her. She seemed to get the idea and turned on the speed.

  
They were in a lower traffic area of the city. Only a few startled motorists got in their way as the chase was on. The she kat's bike was so small she could navigate in between the cars. A dangerous move, but she seemed determined to show off. Razor decided he would show her some fancy moves of his own as he deftly swerved through the traffic, not letting her out of his sights.

  
She gave a sharp, sudden turn down a small alley. Razor almost missed it. He just barely managed to get the long Cyclotron through the turn without scraping the side. Maybe he should consider building a smaller version for chases like this. Heavy armor and power were always good against monsters and robots, but he had really sacrificed maneuverability in this model.

  
The she kat had picked a poor direction. Up ahead was a large produce delivery truck, blocking the whole alley, but she didn't slow down. With the squealing and sparks of metal against concrete, she fearlessly slid herself beneath the truck, coming back up easily on the other side.

  
"Crud," Razor murmured. His bike wasn't going to fit under there. Had he lost the race? Maybe not. There was a pile of shipping pallets against the wall. One was propped up on its side like a ramp. If he hit that going fast enough, the tower should be able to hold him. He ramped up the speed and roared into the air. The tires momentarily skidded on top of the truck before landing on the other side.

  
The she kat was a few paces away, having stopped to see if he would make it across. At the first sign of his success she took off again, this time into the rail yard district and over several lines of train tracks. Razor was happy to follow. They were moving out into the dirt covered back roads outside the city. Once out there, he could really show off the power of his beloved bike. He would smoke this she kat and her tiny little crotch rocket.

  
The bike ahead of him cut off the dirt road and into the brush. Razor was right on her tail. The Cyclotron's wheels were made for all terrains. He noticed with pride that he was gaining on her, the brush was slowing her down. It must have been a rough ride on that dinky little thing.

  
She moved up parallel to the tracks, catching up to the slow, multi-car train that was plugging along ahead. Razor was practically on her back tire as they passed several different box cars. Several were completely empty, doors left open to allow one to see right through to the other side of the tracks.

  
Black Kat suddenly swerved out, arching wide from the train and picking up speed. Razor stayed right behind her as she pulled out wide and then suddenly bolted with a burst of speed back toward the train. As she aimed for an empty car, Razor understood what she was up to.

  
"That old stunt, huh?" he said to himself as she jumped cleanly through the open door car.

  
Razor gunned his engine to do the same. Piece of cake. In no time he had chosen his own car to jump through and landed flawlessly on the other side. The opposite side of the train was darker. No lights at his back and the train cars blocking the glimmer of the city. Razor squinted in the darkness. He didn't see the other kat anywhere. Did she take off again already? Which direction did she go? Razor couldn't see any dust trails or lights anywhere.

  
The last of the train rumbled past him and Razor still wasn't sure what happened. The Turbokat wasn't anywhere in the sky either. T-Bone probably went to finish his sweep of the city. Razor decided he should probably head back to town as well.

  
Right then, he noticed a light in the distance. The other motorcycle. It was jumping off the train! The she kat had landed in the car instead of going right through it as Razor first assumed. It was then the SWAT Kat had an epiphany. This masked she kat hadn't been leading him around on a merry contest of kill, she had been trying to ditch him.

  
Now more determined than ever, Razor made the bike's engine roar and used full power to get back to Megakat City. This time, he turned off all his lights and switched to night vision on his helmet. He wanted to see what this she kat was up to and why she didn't want him around.

  
By the time they reached the city limits, Razor had caught up to the other bike. Held back in hopes she would lead him right to whatever it was she was doing in his city. He was only slightly surprised when she drove back to the same neighborhood where she had first been spotted.

  
Black Kat suddenly swerved down a side alley and Razor knew he had finally been discovered. But he wasn't about to give up his prey. The she kat led him on a chase of tight twists and turns, trying to use her smaller bike to her advantage. Razor refused to let up, despite the new scratches and dings the Cyclotron was earning for his trouble.

  
Finally, the she kat drove into the dead end. Razor pulled up into the darkness. No light to illuminate the three walls, he didn't see any sign of the rider or the bike. For a moment his heart raced. Did they just disappear?

  
A mechanical whirring sound reached his ears and he looked up. Just a split second of an arm and the tip of a blonde pony tail disappeared over the roof of the building. Razor narrowed his eyes. So that's how she wanted to play it.

* * *

 

 

Black Kat raced over the rooftops, her dark colors disappearing and reappearing in the thick shadows of night. She leapt from building to building effortlessly as if she did it every night. It was faster to go by rooftop. No obstacles in the way. And she loved moving under her own power, flying through the air with nothing but her and the breeze in her fur.

  
Something crawled over the edge of the building ahead of her and she skidded to a stop, eyes wide. Razor hopped onto the same roof, panting heavily. He fought to get his breathing under control so it didn't look like he had worked his tail off to try head her off.

  
"So what-- what's the deal?" he panted, fighting to slow his racing heart. "Ditching me on purpose? That's not very nice."

  
The she kat's surprise melted and she gave him another sideways smirk. "I'm sorry. Normally I'd be up for a nice long game of cat and mouse. But I don't have time to play tonight, I'm working."

  
"Working on what?" Razor demanded, claw hooked into his belt authoritatively.

  
Black Kat raised her paws in surrender. "I'm not trying to take over anyone's turf, if that's what you're worried about. I'm here strictly for the Bombay case. I'm just trying to look out for the last living witness. When the trial's over, I'm gone."

  
Razor softened his tone. "Hey, I'm not trying to make it a competition over saving lives. But I heard the witness was taken into protective custody. No one is supposed to no where she is. If you're trying to search the city for--"

  
"She's in that building." Black Kat nodded to the business across the street. It looked more rural than industrial. "It claims it's a bed and breakfast, but it's really an Enforcer safe house."

  
Razor noticed the no vacancy sign in red neon. "And what were you planning on doing?"

  
The she kat stared hard at the building. "If I can find it, that means others might be able to find it, too. If anyone shows up, I want to make doubly sure we nab their tails. If I can catch any of Bombay's goons in the act, that will put significant weight on the prosecutor's side."

  
"Is he really going to be that hard to convict? With all he's done, isn't there enough evidence now?"

  
Black Kat sighed. "You would think. But Vincent Bombay is old and crafty. He's had many years to do a lot of bad stuff to a lot of kats. He's had the time to dig is claws into kats with authority. Kats who owe him favors or aren't above taking bribes. Purrson Heights doesn't look it, but there's a lot of corruption beneath that shiny surface. That's why Bombay was transferred to Megakat City. There was hope his reach didn't go quite so deep in this town and that those in power wouldn't be bought off so easily."

  
"Well I can't speak for everybody, but it's been my opinion Megakat City is pretty difficult to buy off. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are as tough on criminals as they can be. Not that this city can really afford to be lax in that department."

  
"And your Commander? He's a bit intimidating, isn't he?"

  
"Oh Commander Feral hates kats like us, to be sure. But he's also straight as an arrow. I'll eat my tail if he's ever found taking a bribe from a criminal."

  
_I can't believe I just defended Feral,_ Razor thought to himself. _It's a good thing he wasn't around to hear it._

  
The she kat gave him a small smile, looking grateful for the reassurance.

  
"I'm Razor by the way."

  
"Black Kat."

  
The SWAT Kat took a moment to look her over. She was tall and lean, a few inches taller than he. Though, he convinced himself, her boots helped with the height. Her fur was gray with a black mask over her features. The thick blonde hair pulled up in a pony tail would have rivaled Callie's in thickness, but was a paler yellow. The belt around her waist looked like it was carrying an array of different objects. Razor wondered if she wouldn't mind comparing gadgets.

  
It was kind of fun to speak to another who wore the mask. Razor found himself wondering what her missions were like. What sort of life threatening situations had she gotten into over her career and how had she gotten out of them? What happened to her that made her put on the mask?

  
"You're staring," Black Kat reminded and Razor instantly balked.

  
"Uh, sorry. Just thinking."

  
"Well you're welcome to think elsewhere if you want. I'm afraid it's just going to be a long, boring night while I keep an eye on this place."

  
Razor opened his mouth to speak when the distant sound of squealing tires reached his sensitive ears. Both masked kats turned toward the direction of the sound. It came from somewhere at their backs. A few blocks over in a higher traffic area, but still not quite as bright as the glaring lights of downtown. It was followed by several angry blasts of a car horn. Then a crashing sound.

  
Both kats were trying to make sense of it when a barrage of gunfire tore through the air. The two looked at each other with wide eyes and took off running simultaneously.

  
Razor took off one way, jumping off the building to get to his bike. It would get him to the scene faster.

  
Black Kat continued over the rooftops, stopping back above the dead end alley. She paused to look down in the darkness to some rubbish that just looked like two tires sitting on a pile of junk. She pressed a button on the control device at her wrist and what used to be a disguised motorcycle fell apart. From the opposite wrist she fired a fine wire attached to a claw. It grabbed the bulk of what was left of the vehicle and pulled it back up to the rooftop.

  
With her bundle of technology now strapped to her back, Black Kat took off on foot toward the sounds of the growing chaos.

* * *

  


Razor immediately tried to hail his partner as he raced toward the scene. "T-Bone, you copy? Still in the sky buddy?"

  
"T-Bone here. I didn't catch most of that, but my scanner says I'm not too far from your location. Do you need anything? Say it loud and slow."

  
"MIGHT BE TROUBLE," Razor said loud and simple. "FLY OVER."

  
"Roger that. I'll be in the area in a minute."

 

With his partner on the way, Razor rode toward the sounds of the disturbance. A few blocks over he turned the corner and slammed on the brakes, eyes wide at what he found.

  
It was like the scene from one of those epic catastrophic movies. Katizens were running from their abandoned cars, the sound of gunshots above panicked cries. One of the vehicles had flipped over on its side amidst a nest of skid marks. It was on fire. In the epicenter of it all were two Enforcer officers. They had opened fire on the panicked kats.

  
A she kat was already wounded. A tom was helping her limp into an alley for safety, clutching her bleeding arm. A teenager was already on his cell phone. Hopefully calling the Enforcers. His friend was holding a skateboard in one paw and taping the whole thing with his phone in another.

  
"Get out of here!" Razor yelled at them. "Get to safety!"

  
The teenager recording blatantly filmed Razor while the friend with more sense started to drag him off while he spoke with the emergency operator.

  
Razor activated the shield on his Glovatrix, hoping it would be enough to protect him from the gunfire. He raced toward the two officers, instantly catching their attention and drawing all their fire. Razor didn't get as close as he would have liked before he was peppered heavily with bullets and forced to hide behind an SUV. The officers were still several yards away and the SWAT Kat was outnumbered until his partner got there.

  
The gunfire paused for a moment and Razor dared to peek out from behind the car.

  
"Wait! What are you doing?" he called to the Enforcers. "Aren't you supposed to protect and serve?"

  
"Help me!" came the frantic voice in response. "I can't control it! I can't-- get it off me!"

  
Razor peered at the officer that called to him. The Enforcer had tear tracks in his fur and a horrified look on his face. Obviously not a kat willfully intending to do harm. Something was wrong here. What did he mean? Get what off him? What was he talking about? Razor slid down the vizor on his helmet, activating the heat vision. From there he could see the kat's form but there was something winding around the body, under the Enforcer uniform. It radiated a slightly lower heat, wrapped like a snake around the kat's torso and the arm he was using to fire.

  
Beginning to get an idea of what was going on, Razor fired a net from his Glovatrix. It covered the kat, tripping him to the ground, arms bound at his side. The other uniformed officer fired at the SWAT Kat and Razor was forced to duck back down again. He didn't even see the next attack until something hard collided with the side of his head and he was sent sprawling into the street.

  
The helmet protected him from the brunt of the hit, but Razor was still seeing stars for a moment before he saw another kat standing over him. The teenager with the skateboard. This time, Razor clearly saw the thing wrapped around the young kat's body over his clothes. It was a rancid greenish brown worm with warted skin and wicked thorns that dug into the kid's flesh. The head of the creature seemed to be attached to the kat at the back of his neck. His eyes had rolled back into his head so much the iris had appeared to go white.

  
The teen foamed at the mouth and raised his board to strike again. Razor was still trying to make sense of it all, raising his glove to protect himself. At the side of his vision he noticed the other Enforcer aiming for him.

  
Suddenly, the teen was whisked away, dropping his board in the process. Razor was free to put his full attention on the gun pointed at him. He fired with his Glovatrix, a bullet of wet cement. His aim had been a little off in his haste. Instead of gluing the gun harmlessly to the kat's hand, it instead knocked the weapon clean away. At least the cement would render the gun useless and buy him some time.

  
Razor glanced back over to the teen who was now snugly tied and hoisted a few feet above the ground by a lamp post. Black Kat was standing next to her catch, eying the struggling cat. More specifically the undulating worm thing wrapped him.

  
"Gross. These things common in your town?" she asked. The sounds of Enforcer sirens echoed in the distance, getting closer.

  
Before Razor could answer, a very unkat-like scream ripped the night. The Enforcer that was still uncaptured was now doubled over, clutching himself. He groaned and panted. Even in the dim light, the two masked vigilante's could see the kat's fur had changed to a thick, swampy green. The eyes were yellow and without pupils, seeming to glow with their own light. Wicked teeth grew out from a deformed jaw and the kat screamed again as leathery wings surged out of his back, ripping through the uniform.

  
"Wow, poor guy," Black Kat said. "You don't see that everyday."

  
"Stick around long enough and you just might," Razor quipped.

  
The she kat grinned flirtatiously at him. "Is that an invitation, cutie?"

  
"Uhh..." Razor was instantly embarrassed, unused to such a response.

  
The mutated kat shrieked again and ripped off the last shreds of its uniform. The parasitic thing now wrapped around his body was clearly in view. It seemed to have merged with the kat now, digging deep into the skin and becoming one with the host. A great, reptilian eye grew from the worm, blinking right in the middle of the host's chest.

  
Razor got on his radio again. "T-Bone, we've got a situation. Where are you?"

  
"I'm here buddy, nearly right on top of you," came the response.

  
At the same time, the mutated kat decided he had done enough damage in this neighborhood and flapped his massive wings.

  
"This city sure knows how to show a girl a good time," Black Kat grinned. She was twirling a bola in her paw.

  
The mutation leapt into the air, wings spread, and Black Kat threw her line. The bola wrapped around his leg and the she kat held on gleefully to the line.

  
"Wait!" Razor called when he realized what she was doing.

  
But the she kat was already whisked into the air with a triumphant "Woo hoo!"

  
The Turbokat was now hovering right above the scene and T-Bone let out a startled "What the?!" as the winged creature flew right in front of the jet's nose. He watched in bafflement at the masked she kat trailing from his leg as they flew away. T-Bone found the presence of mind to lower the claw to retrieve Razor and the Cyclotron.

  
Meanwhile, Black Kat wasn't exactly enjoying the ride she had been hoping for. Those bat-like wings made for a jerky flight. It didn't help that the creature was not at all happy he had an extra passenger dangling from his foot. The mutated kat screamed and snarled at her, narrowly running her into several tall buildings. Black Kat gritted her teeth as she held on for her life. This would be a whole lot easier if she could just reach the control mechanism on her wrist. But she didn't dare remove one paw from the line.

  
The creature flew by an ornate office building with jutting rain gutters designed as gargoyles, grisly mouths open to pour out the runoff. Black Kat swung toward them. She looped the loose end of the line, catching the gargoyle around the neck. She crouched on the statue, pulling the line tight. The mutation squawked as it was tethered.

  
"Oh, Kitty-girl, you may have bitten off a little too much this time," she muttered to herself as she put all her strength into the rope, working quick to tie it into a knot.

  
The creature, unable to escape, turned around and landed heavily on the statue, claws digging into the stone. He screamed at the she kat, a pitch so high it hurt her ears. Black Kat backed up, pressed against the side of the building. They were several stories up and she had nowhere to run. The teeth of the monster had mutated further, jutting crookedly out of the mouth like the nightmarish sea creatures found at the very depths of the ocean.

  
The she kat stood ready for the worst as the monster snapped at her. It lunged, mouth open and snarling.

  
A brown furred foot came out of nowhere, nailing it right in the face, sending the monster over the side. Razor landed on the thin strip of concrete in its place.

  
"Sorry ugly, she's with me," he spat.

  
"Nice save," Black Kat grinned.

  
Razor didn't look to happy. "Do they put a little extra crazy in the tuna where you're from?" He was starting to feel like he didn't have time for this amateur vigilante who obviously didn't know what she was doing. No matter how hot she was. "What if that monster got you? What if you fell?"

  
Unaffected by the scolding, Black Kat sauntered up to him and practically purred in his ear. "I _like_ the falling."

  
Despite himself, Razor felt a tingling from his ear down to the tips of his toes. His spine almost turned to jelly at her voice and his brain went blank for a few seconds.

  
The mutated kat screamed at them as it clawed its way back into the gargoyle statue. Both kats froze. There was the whooshing sounds of jet engines from above. Razor grabbed Black Kat by the waist in one arm, using his free paw to snatch the dangling safety line in the other. Hooking his foot into the stirrup, the two where whisked way before the monster could get its jaws on them.

  
The two were yanked into the air, reeled up into the belly of the jet.

  
"So this is the infamous Turbokat," Black Kat said, looking over the inside of the hull. "I was hoping I'd get to see her. She's beautiful."

  
"Did she say we're running out of jet fuel?" T-Bone said over the radio. "Tell her we still have a full tank."

  
"No, beautiful T-Bone. She said it was beautiful."

  
"... What?"

  
Razor sighed.

  
"Your partner have some hearing problems?" Black Kat wondered with a smile. She found the two kats quite comical.

  
"Not usually," Razor assured her. "But T-Bone had a little accident with an explosion."

  
The she kat's eyes went wide. "An explosion?"

  
"Jet engine," Razor struggled to recover. He couldn't say T-Bone was in the hotel bombing. That would for sure give his identity away. "The engine blew when we were fixing it. Kinda exploded. Right near his head. His hearing is still trying to recover."

  
Black Kat narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously as if suspecting the story of being a lie, but Razor only shrugged.

  
Below, the mutated kat found enough sense through the haze to rip the tether on his ankle. Now free, it took off into the sky again. The force from the heavy monster's take off loosened the head from the gargoyle and it plummeted to the street.

  
Commander Feral was racing around town with his lights and siren blaring. Frantically he was trying to figure out what had been going on in his city during the past twenty minutes. Felina was already at the original scene, having cordoned off the area. She reported two kats already incapacitated and suffering from some sort of parasitic host. That wasn't a good sign.

  
The rest of the commander's thoughts were cut off as something large and heavy collided with the hood of his patrol car. The metal folded like paper and Commander Feral slammed on the brakes as he came face to face with a gruesome gargoyle head on the other side of his windshield. Stepping out of his now smoking car, Feral heard screams from overhead and saw a winged creature flapping high above the rooftops.

  
With a deep frown, Feral calmly reached into his cruiser and grabbed the radio. "Attention all Enforcers. A 116B has been spotted in downtown heading north. That is one-one-six-bravo. Send air support. And someone come pick me up!"

  
Feral moodily slammed down his radio. What sort of city had this turned into when they actually had an Enforcer code for airborne mutations?

* * *

  


High above the city, T-Bone had also spotted the flying creature as it got free.  
"Razor, that thing's loose again. Get up here."

  
"You'll have to excuse me," Razor said to their extra passenger. "Duty calls ma'am."

  
She grinned. "Sounds like fun. How about we have a contest?"

  
Razor watched her blankly. "You against us?" He stared down at the open hanger. Nothing but a very large gap of air between them and the tops of the skyscrapers. "But how will you--"

  
The masked she kat was suddenly in his space. She kissed him. Not quite on the mouth, but on that sensitive little space between the mouth and the nose. Razor's whiskers twitched with a life of their own.

  
"I told you," she whispered to him, "I like the fall."

  
Razor noticed for the first time that her eyes were a brilliant sapphire blue. Then she let him go and fell backward out of the open hanger. Razor stared with wide eyes as she saluted and winked in mid air before the she kat's face was too small to see. Then her plummeting form sprouted black wings from the mechanical pack on her back and she zipped down under the haze floating around the city buildings and out of sight.

  
Razor gave a low whistle. "And Feral thinks we're show offs.” But he was grinning as he climbed up into the cockpit.

  
"Well don't you look like you caught the canary," T-Bone accused when he saw his partner. "Where's your new girlfriend?"

  
"She left," Razor insisted, trying to force that stupid grin off his face. "And we've got more important things to worry about." He pointed to the flapping form of the mutation. "Like trying to get that officer captured without hurting him."

  
"Yeah, I'm sure his day has already been bad enough," T-Bone joked.

  
The jet raced after the creature.

* * *

  


Callie Briggs ran in place on the treadmill, feeling that good kind of burn in her calves. Nothing felt better after a day of wading through political garbage than a nice workout to help vent the day's frustrations. The gym was located at the top floor of her apartment building. One of the reasons she had decided to move there. Not only was the clientele limited and familiar, but it was nice to gaze at the city while she jogged. It gave her something to look at while she listened to music on her kPod.

  
The deputy mayor had allowed herself to zone out to the rhythm of her legs and the music. She didn't even notice there was anything wrong with her view until a great wingspan blocked out the the city lights. The face of a monster right out of someone's nightmare stared at her with glowing eyes as the creature clung to the side of the building.

  
Callie squeaked and stumbled off her treadmill, the apparatus still going steady. One of the ear buds was jerked out and she heard the other kat's cries of surprise and horror. Before she could even react, the beast turned, attempting to fly away, only to be shoved back into the building by an octopus missile to the head. The creature crashed through the window, the thruster of the missile still propelling it through the room and into several different exercise machines before the missile petered out.

 

The creature snarled and thrashed on the floor, trying to pry the missile from its face. Startled kats scattered, most smart enough to head for the stairs to get as far away from the danger as possible.

  
From above, the SWAT Kats had landed their jet on the roof. They swung in from grappling hooks through the broken windows, Glovatrix at the ready. The creature had its back to them, giving Razor an excellent view of the parasitic worm attached to the base of the neck. The smaller SWAT Kat reached out a gloved paw to grab it. A mere touch and the thing reared back, its mouth a full circle filled with needle like teeth. It left a circular ring of bleeding marks on the host's neck.

  
The worm hissed at Razor and spat several green blobs at him. He ducked most of them, one landing on his metal glove. Razor saw the blob was really a short, squat version of the worm and it was trying to bite through his Glovatrix. Razor quickly threw the nasty thing against the wall, killing it.

  
From behind him, Callie let out a horrified cry. She had been the only kat brave enough to get so close. Several of the disgusting slugs had landed on her exposed limbs. She shook her arm, trying to fling one off, but it held on with some sort of sticky fiber on its skin. She felt a thick, strong arm wrap around her collar bone and hold her still against a broad body. T-Bone far more calmly brushed the creatures off of her before they could sink their teeth in. The things crawled along the floor and the two SWAT Kats made quick work of them before they could find another host.

  
"Don't forget that one" Callie reminded, pointing at the winged mutation.

  
"That one's not so easy, Ms. Briggs," T-Bone said, frowning. "That used to be one of Megakat's finest."

  
"You mean it's a kat that's been mutated?"

  
"Yeah, one of the Enforcer officers," Razor put in. "We've been trying to capture him without--"

  
The mutated kat finally ripped off the octopus missile and flung it at the kats with a snarl. The three ducked and the mutation scrambled back toward the window.

  
"Razor, he's getting away!" T-Bone barked.

  
Both pilots attempted to fire grappling hooks to keep the monster in the building. They were a hair too late and the beast surged into the night sky. No sooner had it cleared the building, Black Kat shot out of the sky, tackling the monster from behind and they both plummeted. The creature howled in rage at his extra passenger, trying to recover from the hit. Black Kat wouldn't allow it. She grabbed his head and shoved some capsules in the mouth. Foam surged up and the beast passed out in mid air.

  
Black Kat removed the pack on her back and slapped it onto the creature It snapped in place and she pushed a button on the device. Two lines shot out on either side and dug into the sides of the buildings around them. They jerked to a stop, suspended in mid air by the lines, the monster still out cold.

  
The masked she kat breathed a sigh of relief and pressed another button on the pack. It slowly began lowering the two of them toward the street. As she balanced on top of the sleeping creature's back, she looked at the undulating worm still attached to the kat's neck. Like before, it disengaged to bare its teeth at her. Black Kat jerked back in surprise, reflexively grabbing the thing by its neck. She pulled a knife from her boot and sliced off the head. Green ichor sprayed her in the face before the rictus mouth fell from her paw to the street below. Once beheaded, the undulating creature wrapped around the body fell still and seemed to wither slightly. The massive eye on the chest closed for good.

  
Commander Feral was waiting below, permanent scowl on his face. Black Kat stumbled onto her feet, looking a bit dazed. Feral pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her.

  
"Thank you," she said as she wiped her face.

  
"Mind telling me what happened tonight?"

  
Black Kat shrugged. "I know he's one of yours." She nodded toward the sleeping form. "He has some sort of parasite wrapped around him that was causing him to mutate. I'm afraid that's all the information I have, Commander. He's just knocked cold, he shouldn't be hurt. There were two other kats that were also victims."

  
"They have been contained," Feral nodded. "Though neither had such radical effects from the parasites."

  
"I hope the mutation can be reversed. We worked hard to bring that guy in intact."

  
"We?" Feral asked.

  
She nodded to the rooftop where two flashlight beams were flickering. If it was possible, Commander Feral's frown etched itself even deeper.

  
"And was it you or the SWAT Kats that shattered those windows up there?"

  
The she kat's mouth fell open. "Uh... it wasn't me. That's all I can tell you."

  
"None one of you should have been around," Feral grouched. "This is the job of the Enforcers. We are well trained and perfectly capable of handling these sorts of things."

  
Black Kat returned the handkerchief and strolled back over to the mutated kat. "Your officers were on the scene and they did do their best." She pulled her pack off the sleeping mutate and clipped it to herself. "But sometimes even the Enforcers need a little help."

  
With a wink, Black Kat was back in the air, jetting off into the night.

  
Up above, Razor slapped his paw to his face. "Crap! We lost!"

  
T-Bone looked at him blankly. "Were we in a contest?" He grinned and added lowly. "Because I think we already won." He glanced meaningfully back at the deputy mayor who was only wearing a pink t-shirt and tiny black shorts.

  
Razor couldn't help but smirk a little. It was fun to see her wearing something else beside her business suit.

  
"Well, looks like there's nothing else to do from here," T-Bone announced in his official "just doing my duty ma'am" type voice. Then it dropped to a more playful tone. "And may I say, nice legs Ms. Briggs."

  
Callie blushed crimson under the tom's appreciative gaze. Then the SWAT Kats fired their grappling hooks out the window and were lifted up to the roof where the Turbokat waited.

* * *

  


Later that night, Black Kat looked up from her binoculars as she heard someone climb onto the roof with her. She spun around, a gun in her paw.

  
"Hey, it's just us," Razor said, arms raised harmlessly. "I thought you might come back here."

  
Black Kat shot a quick glance back to the Enforcer safe house across the street she had returned to guard. "While it was a fun distraction, I shouldn't have left my post." She nodded to the larger of the two.

 

"Since I met Razor, you must be T-Bone."

  
"Hey," he greeted, eying the she kat up and down. _Too bad Razor saw her first, she's kinda hot._

 _  
_ "We thought we'd just check up on you," Razor continued. "Mutated monsters can be tricky. And contagious. Were you bitten or anything?"

  
"I got a lot of worm sludge on me." She frowned at the new stains in her suit. "But I feel fine."

  
"Well we thought we'd come keep an eye on you for a while just to make sure there were no adverse affects," T-Bone cut in smoothly.

  
The she kat grinned. "I was hoping you would."

  
She tossed him a paper bag with a greasy bottom. T-Bone inspected the contents to find burgers and fries.

  
"I'm always famished after a workout. Hope you like strawberry shakes."

  
T-Bone grinned. "I love strawberry."

  
The three kats settled themselves on the edge of the rooftop, legs dangling over the side and happily eating junk food. The she kat sat in between the two pilots as they all dug in.

 

“Handy little gadget you got there,” Black Kat said as she nodded to the Glovatrix at Razor's belt. “How's it work? What kind of spring system do you have in there?”

 

“This?” Razor asked as he handed it to her for inspection. “Well it's-- hey!”

 

The she kat was already taking the gadget apart, two fries hanging out the side of her mouth. “Relax, I'll put it back together. I'm just seeing how it works.” She fiddled around with it for a bit, the poor glove's guts hanging out. “Oh, you've got some great stuff in here. You guys design this yourselves?”

 

“Razor's usually the brains behind the gadgets,” T-Bone said before his partner can speak. “Designs them all. Guy's a genius.”

 

Razor glared in embarrassment at his partner. T-Bone was surreptitiously give him a thumbs up, figuring he was being a proper wing man.

 

“Very impressive,” Black Kat nodded. “I might have to steal a few of your ideas now that I've seen them.”

 

“What about you?” Razor asked. “What about that motorcycle that just disappears into thin air?”

 

Black Kat laughed. “It was still in the alley. It just collapses into what looks like a pile of junk. You probably looked right at it. And that pack I wear,” she pointed out the device sitting in the corner, “it was also part of the motorcycle. I just take it off when I need it.”

 

“Clever.”

 

The kats spent several more minutes talking about technology and gadgets, each impressing the other over the things they had thought of. It was a while before Black Kat desided to change the subject to something more important.

  
"So what was up with all the craziness tonight anyway?" she asked as she sipped her shake. It was chocolate. "You guys have any idea where those things came from?"

  
"Oh yeah," Razor confirmed. "Those uglies had Dr. Viper written all over them."

  
"Except we didn't see a single scale of that snake tonight," T-Bone added. "He usually doesn't go too far so he can gloat about is work."

  
"Not to mention that neighborhood wasn't one of his usual targets," Razor added, trying to keep the she kat's attention on him. "He only seems to do two things: steal mutating chemicals and attack the city with the mutating chemicals he's stolen."

  
"If it was an attempt at a city wide take over, it was a pathetic one," T-Bone mused.

  
Black Kat sipped thoughtfully."Did you notice that of the three kats infected, each one reacted differently to those parasites?"

  
"Yeah," T-Bone rubbed his chin. "Why would Vipe make them do that?"

  
"Maybe he didn't. Maybe he was testing them on live hosts to see what they would do."

 

"So he's trying to perfect his monster," Razor concluded. "The question is which reaction was the desired result? And what does he plan to use them for?"

  
A shrug from the other two kats.

  
"Guess we'll just have to wait and see," T-Bone said as he looked over to the Enforcer safe house. "The second he does show that pointy nose we'll jump in and kick is tail."

* * *

  


Chance groaned as the alarm blared in his ear. The morning seemed to come far too soon and he wasn't so glad to have his hearing return if it meant he woke up to that annoying sound. He slapped the offending appliance with more force than necessary and the clock fell off its perch. Grumbling, Chance lumbered blearily off to shower.

  
They had stayed up far later than they should have the night before. Black Kat wasn't going to leave her post of watching over the last living witness of the Bombay trial until dawn. The pilots had enjoyed her company. It was kind of fun to sit next to a fellow masked kat and talk shop while overtly avoiding all the big questions the rest of the public was dying to know. But in the end, the two pilots eventually had to go home and get at least a few hours sleep. They had another job to do in the morning.

  
Once out of the shower, Chance frowned at the monkey suit waiting for him to wear. He hated dressing fancy, but Tawny had insisted they wear black suits and look professional while on the job. She was also giving them another opportunity to prove they could do this. Chance wasn't about to screw this up again, no matter what he had to wear. After putting on the thin bullet vest, slacks and shirt, he wandered to the kitchen, unfinished tie dangling around his neck with jacket and holsters slung over his shoulder.

  
Jake was already up and fully dressed, pouring himself a mug of coffee. When he saw Chance emerge he poured a second for his partner. The two sat in silence as they sipped their caffeine, enjoying the silence of the early morning.

  
"So I have a thought," Jake spoke up.

  
Chance raised a brow in his direction. It was always interesting when Jake started a conversation with that statement. "About what?"

  
"About our masked she kat."

  
Chance couldn't help but grin. This was going to be good. "Yeah?"

  
"Ms. Furfax's assistant, Mayven."

  
"Uh huh?"

  
"She's the same body type as Black Kat."

  
Chance was silent.

  
"They both arrived in the city around the same time. They both have gray fur and blue eyes."

  
Chance grinned broad. "You would notice her eye color. I saw how you looked at Mayven when she came in the other day. You thought she was cute."

  
"Yeah, well I..." Jake mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck self-consciously. "I just thought it made sense. Mayven seemed to have had some bad history with this Bombay mobster as well. It was obvious she hated him. I could picture her putting on the mask to see justice was done and to make sure her employer stayed safe."

  
"And you and Black Kat seemed to get along quite well, too, I might add. Maybe it's meant to be," Chance teased.

  
"If they're even the same kat," Jake insisted. "It's just a theory. I guess we'll have to see if the two are even seen at the same time."

  
"How's this for a theory," Chance said, his voice getting that nonsensical tone. "What if Tawny and Mayven are the same kats while we're on this string of thought? We haven't seen both of them at the same time, either."

  
Jake frowned at his friend's stupid grin. "Now that's a little far fetched. They're about the same size, but a different wig can only cover so much. They have completely different fur color and different eyes. Not to mention their personalities are nothing alike. Can you imagine Ms. Furfax, the prim and professional CEO of Furfax Industries jumping over rooftops and pulling the type of stunts we saw last night?"

  
Chance shrugged and Razor's watch went off, signaling it was time to grab the car and be on the road.

* * *

  


Chance and Jake had been given an address to where they could pick up Tawny from Enforcer custody. It was not the same address as the safe house they had been guarding the night before. Of course the Enforcers wouldn't ask civilians to drive up to a secret location like that.

  
The job today was a simple one, all the two kats had to do was drive Ms. Furfax to the courthouse for trial, keep an eye on her through the day and then return her back to Enforcer custody at night. This would be their daily routine until the trial was over, however long that would be.

  
"This new day job is going to be one big snooze, especially after the fun we had last night," Chance sighed as they pulled up to the address of the hotel they had been given. He was not looking forward to the hours and hours to come sitting in a boring courtroom. Hopefully everyone would see what a scuzzball this Bombay character was right away and send him to the slammer on the first day.

  
"Let's just hope it is boring," Jake responded. "Remember, it's got the potential to become a bad situation real fast if we're not paying attention. And we can't screw this up again. Feral's probably going to be there, too. If we blow it in front of him again he just might kick us all the way out of Megakat City for good."

  
"Right," Chance sighed. "I'll bring my A game, I promise."

  
A uniformed Enforcer stepped out of the front door of the hotel followed by the drab form of Tawny Furfax. She had on a black pencil skirt, black shoes and a beige top. Her form was a bit hurried, but also hunched and drawn in. The Enforcer opened the door for her and she slid into the backseat like a dark cloud. She was wearing very large, dark sunglasses that seemed to swallow her face.

  
Jake reminded himself that the she kat would still be sporting an impressive black eye from Chance pushing her into the tub. It hadn't looked very good the night before. It must look awful today. It was probably embarrassing for her.

  
"Rough night?" Chance asked.

  
"A bit," came the scratchy response. She hardly sounded like herself. Maybe she was getting sick.

  
"What happened? The Enforcers not as hospitable as you had hoped?"

  
"Just drive, okay?" Tawny shot back in a grouchy tone.

  
Chance wisely held his tongue, noting to himself that anyone spending the night under Feral's watch would be in a bad mood so he couldn't blame her too much for the attitude. They drove in silence to the Megakat courthouse.

  
"Woah," Jake blurted as they neared the building.

  
"What the--" was Chance's retort.

  
It was a regular three ring circus outside the courthouse. All sorts of kats were congregated around, picketing and shouting. Some of the signs suggested that Purrson Heights keep their trash in their own city. Others called for Bombay to fry for his crimes. Paparazzi mobbed the car as it pulled up, cameras flashing through the tinted windows. Enforcers were everywhere, trying to keep things under control.

  
Chanced stared through the thin glass, the only thing separating him from the chaos. "Oh, this is going to be fun," he muttered darkly.

  
Carefully he opened the car door, though he was tempted to shove it open as hard as he could to get everyone out of the way. A young Enforcer immediately stepped into his space to take the keys, parking the car so the bodyguards could watch over their employer.

  
Jake circled the car, telling the media to stand back while Chance opened the door for Tawny. The flashing bulbs and demanding questions increased a hundred fold as she stepped out. She was probably really glad for those massive shades now.

  
Like a champ, Ms. Furfax paraded up the stairs of the courthouse, ignoring all questions and acting as if the media wasn't even there. Jake took point, moving kats aside to clear the way. Chance took the rear, eying the crowd for anything suspicious. It was so difficult to know what to look for. There were so many bodies everywhere. So many cameras blinding him.

  
They were almost to the doors when Chance spotted something that set off his internal alarms. A kat from the picketing crowd suddenly dropped his sign and rushed the mob of reporters. He was reaching for something shiny on his coat, eyes dead set on the ginger she kat.

  
"Gun!" Chance barked, reaching for his own.

  
Several Enforcers were already merging to the kat's position. The gun was out, but he didn't have any time to shoot before he was tackled to the ground by uniformed officers.

  
Despite the gunkat's capture, several shots echoed through the crowd. Jake whirled around, his keen ears telling him the source was from the opposite direction. He stepped in front of Tawny and felt the muted force of a bullet impact his sternum through his vest. His gun was out and despite the fact that several scurrying kats were in his way, he fired with perfect timing.

  
In the Enforcers, Jake and Chance had been trained to shoot to kill if the situation called for it. Jake's impeccable marksmanship could earn him a dead body any time he wanted. Even as bodyguards, the law was on their side for killing the gunkat if he so wished.

  
But as SWAT Kats, they knew the second they put on those masks, they no longer were part of the law. They were above the law. And the only way to make it right was to never kill a fellow kat. No matter how twisted or perverse the mind or body. It was the reason the SWAT Kats never carried a single regular gun in their impressive arsenal.

  
Jake still practiced with Enforcer issue weapons, but only on targets, never in the field. He let off two shots. One hit the second gunkat's paw, shattering the bones and causing the attacker to drop the gun. The second went into the thigh, hopefully doing some good damage to the femur and preventing any escape.

  
The second gunkat was down, yelping in pain. One Enforcer kicked the bloody gun away while others piled on top of him, cuffs ready.

  
Jake turned to check on the status of the she kat behind him. She was on the ground, curled up next to a cement pillar of the courthouse building. Her eyes were wide with fright, her chest gasping for air in a state of shock. One paw was clutching the bony part of her collar between the neck and shoulder. Blood flowed through her fingers.

  
The blood wasn't the only thing that had Jake stunned. The she kat's brown curly wig had fallen off in her scramble, revealing straight black hair beneath. The shades had been lost somewhere and there was no bruise on the face. Only brilliant blue eyes. The fur had been dusted with brown in the few spots fur was exposed. But underneath, Jake could see its original color was gray.

  
"Tawny!" he heard Chance's voice behind him.

  
The burly kat surged forward and froze in his steps when he saw what Jake saw.

  
"Where's Tawny?" he demanded of the wounded she kat. "Where is she?"

 

 


	3. Disappearance

**Masks**

  
**Chapter Three: Disappearance**

  
Tawny Furfax burst through the hospital room doors, whole and alive. All heads to looked her way as she entered.

"Oh my God, Mayven!" she cried as she ran to her wounded assistant, ignoring the three tomkats in the room. "Are you okay?"  
  
The gray furred she kat looked up with a weak smile. Her face was a bit pale, her blue eyes not quite as bright. She had a thick bandage over her shoulder.

"I'm fine, Tawny. It wasn't that serious.”  
  
"And where have you been?" Chance demanded, hovering behind the ginger kat. "You scared me half to death! I thought someone had katnapped you."  
  
"I was at the courthouse already," Tawny said quickly as she glanced over her shoulder. "Mayven was being my double." She instantly turned back to her wounded assistant. "And I told you to wear a bullet vest."  
  
Mayven winced, suddenly looking much younger. "I thought someone would notice and suspect something."  
  
"So let them! It's not worth your safety! I told you that!”  
  
"You told me your bodyguards would keep me safe!"  
  
"Exactly," Commander Feral cut in. The large kat had been standing in the corner, quietly frowning until now. "I told you before, Ms. Furfax, these two you hired don't know how to do anything. They are lucky your friend here didn't get killed."  
  
Chance felt his blood boil and he was about to give Feral a piece of his mind. But Tawny beat him to it. She reached across Chance to grab Jake by his collar and yank him over. The brown kat didn't have time to react before Tawny ripped his shirt open. There in full view was the bullet that hit Jake in the chest earlier, still embedded in the vest. Jake almost forgot it was there himself among all the craziness of the past several minutes. Now that he was reminded, his chest started to ache. That was going to leave a welt.  
  
Feral's eyes widened when he saw it.  
  
"They DID their jobs," Tawny insisted angrily. "Jobs they were forced to fulfill because _you_ couldn't keep your ego out of it. You just had to have your big media parade outside the courthouse so you could strut around in front of the cameras. YOU Commander, are the lucky one that my assistant wasn't killed. Now get out."  
"Just a moment here--" Feral blustered, but he was caught short by the death glare he was getting from the angry she kat.  
  
There was almost a growl in her voice as she spoke to him, low and dangerous. "I said get. Out."  
  
For a moment, Feral seemed as if he would get into it with her. Then he thought better of it and decided he would give the angry she kat a moment to cool off before he bothered her again. With his head high, Feral quit the room with a proud gate and shut the door behind him.  
  
For a moment it was silent. Then Tawny let out a heavy sigh and moved to the opposite side of the bed to look over her wounded assistant. "Mayven, I'm so sorry you got hurt. Are you going to be okay?"  
  
Mayven lightly touched the padding on her shoulder, wincing slightly. "It's not bad. Just a broken collar bone. I'll be okay. Really, Tawny, everything will be alright. I promise. Just don't... don't let this hold you back.” Her face suddenly looked desperate. “We've got to keep going, alright? We're so close. Don't you stop now. Don't let this scare you off."

Tawny touched her paw, her voice almost maternal. “Mayven, honey, we're not done fighting yet, okay? I promise.”  
  
"Why didn't you even tell us what you were planning?" Chance jumped in from the other side of the bed. "Shouldn't Jake and I get to know if you send in a double?"  
  
The ginger kat met his gaze with a challenging look. "Would it have made a difference? Would you have protected Mayven any less if you knew she wasn't me?"  
  
"That's not the point Tawny," Chance shot back. "We're trying to help you! How can I protect you if you're keeping secrets from me?"  
  
"I didn't hire you to protect me, I hired you to do what I tell you!"  
  
Chance's mouth hung open for a minute. "What? That doesn't even make any sense!"  
  
"It doesn't have to make sense! Just do what I say! Don't worry about anything else!"  
  
A growl of frustration rumbled at the back of the yellow tom's throat. "I'm not here to be your errand boy, I'm here to make sure nothing happens to you, you stubborn--" His temper was boiling. If Tawny had been a tom, Chance would have just slugged some sense into her. Since he couldn't do that, he vented his frustration by grabbing a pillow off the chair and throwing it at her. It socked her right in the face.  
  
Tawny gasped and gaped. It was very satisfying to see her so surprised that someone would actually fight back against her. Then she picked up her own pillow and reached over the bed to whomp him back as hard as she could.  
  
"Hey!"  
  
Suddenly both of them were reaching over the bed and hitting each other with pillows, arguing at the same time. It was nearly impossible to discern what each was saying as they vented their anger out on each other.  
  
"Hey, hey! Can we calm down here?" Mayven begged. The poor kat was stuck in the middle as they fought right over her head. "Wounded kat here. Be careful please."  
  
Jake decided he was the only one who could take charge of the situation. He snatched Chance's pillow from his paws and then grabbed his buddy's shoulder.  
  
"Okay guys, everyone needs to take a breath," Jake said calmly, pulling Chance toward the door. "Let's go get some air buddy, come on."  
  
Chance allowed himself to be yanked out, giving Tawny his best 'this isn't over' face before he was out the door. Outside, there was an armed Enforcer stationed down each hallway on both sides of the waiting room, IDing every kat that came by. The two toms would need to move further away if they wanted full privacy to talk.  
  
But Chance didn't make it far. Despite his distaste for how he had been treated, he kept pacing protectively in front of the door, refusing to leave it behind. Jake watched him, feeling a little frustrated himself at the whole situation.  
  
"What is going on between you two?" he finally said in a low tone. "Did you used to date or what?"  
  
Chance paused in mid stride to stare at his partner. His nose wrinkled as if he smelled something sour. "What? No! Jeeze, Jake, the last time I saw her I was sixteen."

"Well, what then? What about this kat has you all bent out of shape? You don't tell me anything about her."  
  
"Look, there's not much to tell, okay? Her mom died when she was young and her dad was always at work. Even her brother was never home so she was a little latchkey kitten. I lived down the road so I would just take her home with me after school.”

"That's all?" Jake pressed.  
  
“It's not like some crazy thing happened between us that sealed our friendship for all time. Our last names are one right after the other in the alphabet so we were always seated next to each other, grade after grade. And she--” he paused as very old memories came back to him. “She was utterly fearless and it was so fun to hang out with her, to see what she'd do next. And I don't...” Again he paused and looked at his partner as he realized something. “I don't remember life without knowing her.”

That was it. Tawny was his childhood. She symbolized younger days, happier memories, an easier life. She stood for everything Chance used to be before he put on the mask and became someone else. And it was killing him inside that he could not protect that part of his world.

“I know the kind of kat Tawny used to be. She was happy, bright, loud. This kat I see, this quiet, secretive kat isn't her. And she pretends to be strong, but I see this haunted, scared look in her face and the fact that she won't talk to me about it. It's driving me nuts.”  
  
Right as he said that, Tawny walked through the door of the hospital room, shutting it behind her. For a brief moment, her facade slipped as she leaned against the door. The previously head strong she kat now looked vulnerable and scared as she covered her mouth with a paw and took a few deep breaths. The other arm wrapped around herself as if trying to hold her up.  
  
"Tawny," Chance said softly as he moved closer.  
  
She saw the two toms standing there and immediately her walls slid into place like a physical change. Her body straightened and her expression grew detached.  
  
"The trial has been postponed until tomorrow," she said calmly as if it were just daily business. "Mayven's staying in the hospital under guard for at least the next 24 hours."  
  
"She seems personally invested in this case as well," Jake noticed. "And in you."  
  
“Yes, she is. I pulled Mayven off the street three years ago when she was fourteen. Her mother died when Mayven was twelve of an overdose. It was sad because only a few years earlier, the woman had been completely clean. But as a single mom, she was very poor. Ended up owing the wrong kats a lot of money. They strung her out on alcohol and catnip-- the really hard stuff. Got her doing a lot of things for them no self respecting mother would ever do. It ran the poor woman into the ground and put Mayven in the streets.  
  
"I found her living in an alley, trying to sell herself just like her mother had, just so she could make enough to eat. I got her cleaned up, put her back in school. Made her my assistant when she graduated."  
  
"So how is she invested in this case?" Chance asked.  
  
"Everything comes from Bombay," Tawny sighed. "Though it's near impossible to prove in a case like Mayven's. Bombay owns all the criminal activity in that town.  
The drugs, loan sharks, prostitution. If it's illegal, it's going down because Bombay says when and how. Though the organization is trickled down through so many channels so it will never lead back to him."  
  
"I see."  
  
The she kat let out a heavy sigh. "Mayven wants to protect me. I'm the only one left alive who can take that slimeball down now. But I never wanted her to get hurt like this." Her stoic veneer faltered for a moment as she leaned against the wall. "And we have to do the whole thing again tomorrow. Some days it feels like I'm beating against a wall that one day's just going to fall over on me."  
  
Jake tipped his head as a thought suddenly came to him. "Hold on, I just had an idea that will get you to that trial and keep everyone safe."

* * *

  
  


The second attempt at the trial was a far more subdued and controlled affair than the one before it. Picketers were not allowed anywhere on the courthouse grounds and there was no parading of witnesses before the media cameras. Members of the press were allowed by invitation only. Feral and many others agreed that they should still be allowed in the courtroom to show that Megakat City was not scared to continue to show Vincent Bombay for what he was. Thorough ID checks were made on every kat present in the court.  
  
The time came for Vincent Bombay himself to be brought into the courtroom. Everyone fell silent as he was marched down the isle in his expensive suit and handcuffs. The mobster was pushing late 40's with dark gray fur, turning lighter around the face and in his hair from age. He was a large kat, not overly tall, but stout and heavy. His appearance was grizzled from a hard life with a long scar that went from his right cheekbone up to nick out a thick piece of his eyebrow.  
Vincent Bombay did not look happy as he took his seat next to his well suited lawyer. A kat who had been on the Bombay family payroll, defending his boys for years. The lawyer as well did not look all too pleased. The DA had been putting together this case for years. Coupled with the surviving witness, this was going to be a tough trial.  
  
At the prosecutors side sat both DAs from Purrson Heights and Megakat City. Heavy hitters meant to take this mobster down once and for all. But there was no witness with them or anywhere in the room. Even Vincent Bombay couldn't help but continue to glance over in curiosity, wondering what was planned.  
Everyone was asked to rise until Judge Graywhisker had been seated. Then he addressed the court.  
  
"Due do the unforeseen and tragic circumstances regarding this case, we will be proceeding a bit differently in the interest of keeping our final witness safe. Both sides will be allowed opening arguments and then we will bring in the witness immediately to give testimony and following evidence afterward."  
  
There was a murmur among the crowd and the judge pounded his gavel to keep order.

* * *

  
  


Tawny waited silently in the tiny room. She was dressed professionally, legs crossed at the ankles as she sat with absolute patience. There were armed Enforcers outside the room. Jake and Chance were the only ones inside. In front of the waiting she kat was a monitor with an attached camera. A quick glance at Tawny's watch and the monitor suddenly came to life. Chance notice her take in a quick breath.  
  
On the screen she saw the competent face of Mr. Showshoe, Megakat City's district attorney. They had met only once in person two days prior, but it made her feel better to see his face.  
  
"Hello, Ms. Furfax," he greeted.  
  
"Mr. Snowshoe."  
  
"May it please the court," he turned to address those in the room with him,"allow me to explain this set up. Due to the murder attempt orchestrated by Mr. Bombay--"  
  
"Objection," interrupted a voice in the background. "The prosecutor has no proof it was my client. A kat, I may add who has been in protective custody for weeks and had no opportunity to orchestrate anything. It's speculative."  
  
"Sustained," agreed the judge.  
  
Mr. Snowshow continued again. "Because of yesterday's attempt on my client's life, we have put her in an undisclosed location where she will testify via a live feed into the courtroom." He turned back toward her. "Ms. Furfax. You were sworn in while we were setting up the feed, correct?"  
  
"Yes," Tawny confirmed.  
  
"You do realize you are still under oath."  
  
"Yes, I understand."

"And can you tell us your involvement with Mr. Bombay?"  
  
"My father used to work for him. He was Mr. Bombay's accountant."  
  
"So he kept financial records of all Mr. Bombay's business ventures."  
  
"I couldn't say for sure," Tawny said. "He began working for Mr. Bombay when I was very young. I never had a full knowledge of what exactly my father did for Mr. Bombay."  
  
"But eventually, your father wanted out," Mr. Snowshoe added.  
  
"Yes," she confirmed, "Mr. Bombay came to our house one night and my dad told him he was done working for the family."  
  
"Please, tell us about that night."  
  
"I had come home late from a friend's house. I was sixteen, maybe seventeen years old. The light was on in the kitchen so I came in quietly, hoping Dad wouldn't notice I had arrived so late. I heard other voices in there with him. I recognized Mr. Bombay's voice, I had met him a few times over the years. They were arguing. I couldn't understand what they were saying, but Mr. Bombay sounded angry and my dad, his tone sounded like he was scared. Like he was asking for something.  
  
"I snuck over to peek in and see what was going on. The door was open just a bit. I heard a gunshot and saw my father fall to the floor. I could see his face. It was blank, no life in it. There was a bleeding hole in his forehead. Mr. Bombay had shot him."  
  
From where he stood, Jake blinked in surprise. Chance never mentioned Tawny's family was involved in the mob like this or that her father was killed. One glance at his partner and it was written all over Chance's face that he had no idea about it either. There was a mixture of horror, sadness and anger fighting for dominance all over the burly tom's face.  
  
"I realize this is difficult to talk about and I am sorry for your loss," Mr. Snowshoe continued, "but can you tell us what happened next?"  
  
Tawny swallowed, but her face stayed a passive mask. "They took my father's body with them. I hid down in the crawl space so they wouldn't find me. Mr. Bombay called other kats to clean up the scene and then they all left. They never knew I was there and I never saw my father again."  
  
"And the authorities have never recovered him?"  
  
"No, he's officially a missing person, even now. No one has ever found the body."  
  
"Your older brother, Dusty Furfax, he, too is on the missing person's report, is that correct?"  
  
"Yes, two years later, after Furfax Industries began to go global, he disappeared without a trace."  
  
"And you suspect Mr. Bombay killed him also."  
  
"Objection," said the defense attorney.  
  
"Sustained," the judge said. "Stick to the facts Mr. Snowshoe."  
  
The attorney nodded. "Ms. Furfax, do you know of any reason why your brother would have willingly made himself disappear on purpose?"  
  
"No. The company was exploding. The money was coming in faster than we knew what to do with it and Dusty one of the main developers. It was his ideas, his first devices and specs that made the company take off. He loved his job, this company. He wouldn't have left it. The only possibility that I can think of is that he, too, felt his life was in danger so he had to hide."  
  
"But you don't really believe that," Mr. Snowshoe said.  
  
"No, I don't."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
Tawny's voice cracked a little. "Because he wouldn't leave his little sister in danger all by herself."  
  
Mr. Snowshoe nodded to her and then turned to the judge. "No more questions, Your Honor."  
  
The DA sat himself down and Bombay's lawyer stood. He was an older kat, one who had known the ins and outs of the courtroom and all the loopholes of the law for years. He strode up to the camera calmly.  
  
"Good day, Ms. Furfax. Mr. Black for the defense."  
  
"Good day," Tawny replied tightly.  
  
"May I start by saying I am sorry for your previous hardships. It can be very difficult to have such unreliable family members."  
  
Chance shifted from where he stood, feeling restless and angry at that subtle jab. Tawny glanced at him for a brief second and then back to the camera.  
  
"I have no doubt they would be here if they were still alive, Mr. Black," she said in an accusatory tone.  
  
The lawyer continued as if she had never said anything. "Did you know exactly what your father did for Mr. Bombay, Ms. Furfax?"  
  
"Not exactly, no. I understood he helped with the finances, ran numbers. But I was a child when he began to work for Mr. Bombay. I did not have much knowledge of what my father's work entailed or what kind of kat Mr. Bombay really was."  
  
"You have created for yourself quite an enterprise with Furfax Industries. To build all that up from scratch is very impressive, not to mention expensive. I can't imagine where a single kat with two children to support came up with that kind of money."  
  
He stared at her through the monitor for several moments until Tawny finally spoke.  
  
"Do you have a question in there, counselor?" she asked calmly.  
  
"Do you know where your father got the money to build Furfax Industries?"  
  
"No."  
  
"You don't? It wasn't from a specific loan or...?"  
  
"No, I don't."  
  
"Can you explain to the court why you have no idea what was going on in your own house?"  
  
"Furfax Industries was the brainchild of my brother. He was the genius behind the inventions. And my father was intent on getting those inventions into the market. I was fifteen when they first started working on it. No fifteen year old girl cares where her father gets money from."  
  
"So you weren't aware that your father was actually stealing money from Mr. Bombay, fudging the numbers in the books so he could skim off the top?"  
  
"Does the defense have proof of this, Mr. Black?" Tawny countered. "Because the last I heard, there was no such evidence. Mr. Bombay paid my father well for his work and he knew how to save money. Though if you did want to push that claim, counselor, I'd say you just gave your client probable cause as to why he killed my father. Even if Mr. Bombay was paranoid enough to think my dad was stealing from him, I have no doubt he would kill first and dig up the truth later."  
  
"Of course, that's just my opinion," Tawny added after a pause, looking a little pleased with herself.  
  
In the background on camera, Mr. Snowshoe looked proud himself. He knew the defense would try to tear down Tawny's character to take away the credence of her testimony. That was all they could do. But he had prepped her well and the she kat was proving to be as sly as the mob lawyer himself.  
  
"Motion to strike that last part from the record," Mr. Black said to the judge.  
  
Judge Graywhisker looked down at him. "You opened that door yourself, counselor, I'll allow it."  
  
The attorney looked a little put out, but quickly recovered. "Ms. Furfax, if your father did steal some of that money from Mr. Bombay to build your company, would you be comfortable with that?"  
  
"You mean would I be comfortable using blood money from a dirty mobster to run my business?"  
  
Mr. Black opened his mouth to object, but he knew the judge would just tell him the same thing as before, so he kept his mouth shut.  
  
"I did not build Furfax Industries," Tawny continued. "I merely inherited it when my family was taken away from me. I had no control over its origins, all I can do is run it to the best of my ability now."  
  
Seeing he was getting nowhere with this line of questioning, the defense attorney moved on. "Ms. Furfax, you say you saw your father killed when you were about seventeen, correct?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"That was several years ago. Why are we discussing it now?"  
  
"I was a child, Mr. Black. I was scared to death that if I said anything the same thing would happen to me. It took a while before I dared tell anyone what I had witnessed. My brother went after Bombay and he disappeared. After that happened, the KBI contacted me and asked that I wait for this trial to give my testimony. Which is perfectly legal since there is no statute of limitations on murder."  
  
"And you are sure Mr. Bombay was the one who killed your father?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"You saw him do it?"  
  
Tawny sighed. "I did not see him pull the trigger, but I saw a smoking gun in his paw after my father fell to the floor. If Mr. Bombay was stupid enough to handle a murder weapon after someone else had pulled the trigger then he was at least there when it happened."  
  
In the background, Vincent Bombay sent her a murderous glare and Tawny glared fearlessly right back.

* * *

  
  


The questioning was grueling and emotionally trying, but finally it was over. The attorneys had no more questions and the judge thanked Tawny for her time. When the monitor at last went black, she painfully released her fists that had been clenched in her lap the entire time. Technicians came in to unhook the equipment while Tawny stood and flexed her fingers.  
  
Chance approached her, a concerned look on his face. Tawny just smiled at him.  
  
"I had no idea you had been through all that," he apologized. "I wish you would have told me. I wish I would have known somehow."  
  
"We've been keeping it out of the papers," Tawny said gently. "I would have told you if you had asked about them."  
  
"I would have asked, if we just had more than two seconds to--"  
  
"I know," she insisted. "It's been crazy. Let's talk about this when it's all over, okay?"  
  
He smiled a little. "Yeah, I'd like that."  
  
Tawny turned to look at Jake. "And you, that was a brilliant plan. I don't know why I never thought of this myself."  
  
He just smiled and shrugged a little. "Just doing my job."  
  
"You two have been a big help, really," Tawny smiled, looking almost genuinely happy. "This will be it for now. We're parting ways until the trial's over."  
  
"What?" Chance protested. "What's going on?"  
  
"I'm going underground until the trial's over. Way underground. They believe it's best for my safety."  
  
"The Enforcers," he accused with distaste in his voice.  
  
Tawny shook her head. "Higher up."  
  
"The KBI?" Jake gaped.  
  
She just smiled. "Unfortunately, that means I'll only be able to read the trial transcripts instead of attending. But fair trade, I guess, for living to see the end. Just because I've managed to testify doesn't mean Bombay won't try any revenge."  
  
"I'd like to go to the trial," Chance said. "Somebody should be there for you."  
  
Emotion passed over her face before she got it back under control. "I believe your names are on the approved list if you wish to attend. I have to go now."  
  
"You better see me before you leave the city," Chance warned. "I'm collecting on that talk."  
  
"It's a promise," she vowed.

* * *

  
  


The next day of the trial there were no more witnesses, but there was plenty of data and evidence to wade through. Jake and Chance were indeed allowed in the courtroom and were determined to sit through the rest of it. The DA really seemed to have an air tight case on Bombay. It was obvious they had been getting everything in order for quite some time.  
  
Two hours in, Chance nudged Jake and leaned into whisper "Check out the corner, up in the balcony."  
  
As covertly as possible, Jake glanced over the kats sitting in the seats above his head. It took a few passes to figure out what exactly Chance wanted him to see.  
  
"Anyone look familiar?"  
  
Then Jake saw her. Even without her mask and costume he recognized her immediately. Black Kat in civilian clothes was sitting up there plain as day. The tall striking she kat would catch anyone's attention. Not to mention gray fur with blonde hair was an unnatural color combination. Though she was dressed plainly in a skirt and heels, hair down around her shoulders, it was nearly impossible not to recognize her.  
  
"Looks like Feral's noticed her, too," Jake whispered back.  
  
Commander Feral had appeared in the balcony and obviously zeroed in on the suspiciously familiar she kat. Jake felt a bit bad for her that she was going to get caught so easily. It seemed like a waste and there was nothing he could do to help her now. Jake hoped for her sake she had a trick up her sleeve to get out of there.  
  
Black Kat picked up she was being singled out as well. As calmly as you please, she gathered up her purse and headed for the exit before the Commander could skulk over to her side of the balcony. With a clicking of heels, she was soon walking down the tile floor toward the exit. Almost to freedom.  
  
"Hold on there, Miss," came a commanding voice.  
  
The she kat froze, breathed out, and then turned around curiosity. "Yes?"  
  
Feral looked her up and down suspiciously. The black choker on her neck caught his eye. It seemed out of place with the rest of her high class outfit. "Leaving the courtroom so soon? Seems strange to go right in the middle."  
  
"Oh, I would love to see it all, but I have another appointment I have to go to this afternoon," the she kat answered smoothly.  
  
"May I see your ID, please?"  
  
She paused for a moment, then put a smile on her face. "Why yes, of course. One moment." She rooted around in her tiny red purse before producing a card and handing it to the commander.  
  
Feral inspected the ID. It was Megakat City issued. It appeared legitimate and the picture matched the she kat standing before him. He looked at the name: Katarina Rogers.  
  
"How long have you lived in Megakat City, Ms. Rogers?" he asked.  
  
"Most of my life."  
  
"And what is your relationship to this case?"  
  
That she kat presumably called Katarina moved closer to him. Feral got a whiff of the flowery scent in her hair. Her smile was dazzling as she plucked her ID from his fingers. "Things like this interest me and I've gotten to know some kats in some very high places."  
  
Any other she kat, Feral would have automatically assumed he was speaking with the mistress of some politician. Any other kat but this. She was leggy with blue eyes that could drown any unsuspecting tom, but Feral felt something more to this one. She wasn't just a pretty face. There was something going on but he didn't have a thing to pin on her.  
  
"Good day," Katarina called as she walked away.  
  
Feral hesitated to go after her. He needed to stay with the Bombay trial as long as that dangerous criminal was in there. But he was torn with the urge to follow the she kat as well. Eventually, his curiosity won out and he moved to the glass doors to at least see which way she would go. He stepped outside, but the she kat was nowhere to be found.  
  
Frowning, Feral skulked back inside.

* * *

  
  


One of the things Commander Feral prided himself of personally was his photographic memory. He only had a glance of Katarina Roger's ID, but that was all he needed to memorize the address. Her name had indeed been on the approved list, but Feral could not figure out who had put her on it. It was time to do some investigating.  
  
That night after the trial, Feral followed up with the address, taking an unmarked car. It took him to an older neighborhood. Not quite the slums, but not exactly the nice kind of neighborhood a classy she kat like that would come from. Feral approached the building and inspected the line of buzzers at the front doors that would connect him to each apartment. Katarina lived in apartment 502 but he didn't see any button for that number.  
  
The front door opened and an older kat, most likely to be the landlord, stepped outside. Feral obviously stuck out in this neighborhood.  
  
"Can I help you, sir?"  
  
"I'm looking for the resident in apartment 502," Feral replied.  
  
The kat shook his head. "Look up there, this building only has four floors. There is no apartment 502."  
  
Feral looked at the building and frowned.

* * *

  
  


The trial lasted for a week before the persecution ran through all their evidence. The DA's case was strong and all the years of preparation had been worth it. Without any bodies, Vincent Bombay was not found guilty of murder, but everything else stuck And it was a very, very long list. The mobster did not look happy at all as he stood for sentencing. The judge gave him all nine lives at Alkatraz Island.

* * *

  
  


"Man, did you see that guy's face when the book got thrown at him?" Chance said in a light mood as he drove himself and Jake home. "It was priceless. I wish Tawny could have been there to see it."  
  
"There were enough cameras there, I'm sure she'll get a replay."  
  
"It was really interesting to see what happens on the other side though. It makes me feel good about the system to see justice done."  
  
Jake chuckled. "Well how about the day we hang up the masks we'll both become lawyers?"  
  
Chance grinned. "Sounds like fun."  
  
It was evening by the time they returned to the salvage yard. The shop had been closed all week, but there was a car parked right outside the building. A she kat with a ginger complexion was leaning against the car and waiting for them.  
  
"Hey, look at you," Chance greeted as he got out of the car. He eyed the she kat up and down. "Now that's more like it."  
  
Tawny was dressed in jeans this time. Nice jeans with a fashionable top, but still a step lower than her usual attire. She just smirked at him.  
  
"So I guess you heard about the trial results,” Chance continued. “That must feel good."  
  
The she kat suddenly grinned, bigger than either tom had seen from her. "It feels amazing. This is the best day of my life.”

“How's your assistant doing?” Jake asked.

“She's doing well. Even better since she got the news. She's already back in Purrson Heights working. I told her she could take as many days off as she needed, but she's got a fire lit under her tail now.”

“Good. I'm glad to hear it.”

Tawny nodded at him and then addressed them both. “I was hoping you guys wouldn't mind working for me a little while longer. I wanted to go out to eat to celebrate. My treat."  
  
"Yes!" Chance pumped his fist. "Wait. Do we have to wear those monkey suits?"

She grinned. "Does it look like I'm wearing mine?"  
  
Chance smiled back, a more gentle expression. He moved closer and put an arm around her shoulders. "You did good."  
  
She leaned into him and patted his arm. "Thanks." Then she pulled away. "You guys ready to eat? I'm starving."

* * *

  
  


Tawny took them to a steak house with a private, fenced off patio in the back. Having reserved the entire back deck for herself, the three ate in complete privacy. Though Chance purposefully placed his seat facing the door so he could see who was coming and going.  
  
Most of the night was spent catching up. Chance told Tawny about his brief Enforcer days and begrudgingly how they ended up running the salvage yard. Tawny took not a moment to judge him and told him about her struggles with running a business without her family. But by the time dessert came around, the conversation turned to lighter subjects. Jake listened quietly as the two entertained him with silly stories about when they were stupid teenagers.  
  
"And Tawny just grabs a bat and chases all three of those guys down the driveway," Chance said through his laughter. "She just kept screaming at them that she knew where they lived and she was going to get them all. I've never seen kats get in a car so fast. And she had brought me to be the muscle."  
  
"I couldn't help it!" the she cat protested. "They made me so mad! Jude and his friends were slimeballs, all of them. I had to get Tina out of that relationship for good. If any guy hit me, the Enforcers would never find the body."  
  
"Not if I got to him first," Chance and Jake both said at the same time.  
  
"Aww," Tawny cooed, pressing a paw to her heart. "That's sweet, guys."

“Not that I wouldn't have doubted you could take care of yourself in high school,” Chance continued. “Remember Jason Bengal?”

Tawny instantly covered her face. “No, don't tell that story.”

“Well now I have to hear it,” Jake grinned.

“This Jason guy had been beating on a friend of ours, just a really small, quiet kid. I was going to confront him myself about it, but Tawny beat me to it. I walked down to the bleachers just in time to see her kick Jason right in the junk.”

Jake made the kind of empathetic face all males make on the subject. Tawny herself winced at the recollection.

“As he's limping away, she's calling after him,” Chance mimicked her screaming, “'If you ever touch him again, your balls are mine!'”

Tawny hid her face in her paws again.

“Wow, so you were some kind of schoolyard enforcer,” Jake commented.

“I swear, I'm not a bad person,” Tawny pleaded to the brown tom.

“She was a bit more scrappy in those days,” Chance grinned. “But still as tough now.”

Tawny gave him a thankful smile, then hurried to change the subject. "Hey, remember Scaredy Kat? We would stay up all night long watching those marathons."  
"Are you kidding!" Chance confirmed. "I still watch Scardey Kat! They've started putting out new episodes again."  
  
Jake groaned at the she kat. "Oh no, you like that show, too? How can you watch a whole marathon?"  
  
"Scaredy Kat is the best show ever," Chance insisted. "Tell him, Tawny."  
  
The she kat turned toward Jake, meeting her eyes with his. "You see, the thing about Scaredy Kat is that is it the _stupidest_ show ever made and that is why it's so hilarious."  
  
"What?" Chance protested, almost standing up in surprise. "It's not stupid!"  
  
Tawny was giggling. _Giggling._ And Jake just kept watching her. It was like looking at a completely different kat. Was this the Tawny that Chance had always known was under that cold, emotionless veneer?  
  
"It's so bad," she continued to laugh, looking over at Jake.  
  
For the first time ever, he noticed her eyes were yellow and they sparkled like gold in the wake of her joyful smile.  
  
"It's not stupid!" Chance insisted again. "Scaredy Kat is comedy genius!"  
  
Tawny just kept laughing. "Oh Chance, you're hilarious when you're angry." Her phone vibrated in her purse and she fished it out. "Hey Mayven," she greeted as she continued to smile.  
  
The voice on the other end of the phone spoke to her and rapidly that smile began to disappear. Tawny swallowed. "Are you sure?" she said in a suddenly raspy voice.  
  
Mayven said something else and Tawny's head snapped toward the inside of the restaurant. She walked through the doors with wide strides, phone still at her ear. Approaching the bar, she stared at the wall mounted tv where Ann Gora's face filled the screen. Jake and Chance were right behind her as they watched the news report.  
  
"...infamous mob boss Vincent Bombay who was sentenced to life on Alkatraz earlier today," Ann was saying. "Bombay was scheduled to meet the boat that would take him to his prison cell earlier this evening. The police truck transporting the mobster failed to arrive at the appointed time and was found just moments ago, abandoned and empty on the beach."  
  
"What?" Chance sputtered behind Tawny's shoulder.  
  
Jake glanced at her and watched the color completely drain from her face.  
  
"Authorities are now on the hunt for Bombay and the missing Enforcers who were escorting him," Ann continued. "If you see Vincent Bombay, contact authorities immediately. Do not attempt to approach him. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous."  
  
Tawny turned and stumbled through the two toms standing behind her. Jake had to catch her before she almost ran into a table. She wandered back out to the patio in a daze, blindly pawing around to fetch her purse.  
  
"I've gotta... I've got to do something..." she mumbled to herself.  
  
"Hey, hey." Chance grabbed her shoulders. "Look at me. It's going to be okay. The Enforcers are already on his tail. They'll find him. And when they do, this guy has already been convicted. He's going to jail for a long time."  
  
Tawny closed her eyes and let out a shaky breath. She stood there for a moment and then met Chance's gaze.  
  
"I need to go home now."  
  
Chance didn't move, mentally weighing the options.  
  
"Mayven's there. I need to be with her," Tawny continued. "I haven't been home in so long. I need to go home."  
  
Normally, Chance would have insisted she stick with him while she was upset. But maybe getting Tawny out of town and away from this craziness was a good idea. Sometimes just being home was the best therapy and she was right, Tawny had been seeing nothing but hotel rooms for over a week. She needed to go home.  
  
"Okay," he relented.  
  
She gave him an apologetic look. "Do you guys mind taking a cab? I've got to go pack my things and call Mayven to tell her I'm coming home."  
  
"Yeah, that's fine, Tawny. But you promise to call me when you get home, okay?"  
  
Her answer was to reach up and hug him around the neck. "I will. We'll talk again," she promised in a whisper.  
  
They embraced briefly and Tawny slipped back into her business mode. She payed for the meals and the two toms walked her out to the parking lot. It was the last time they ever saw her as she drove away.

* * *

  
  


That night, the two pilots hit the gym they had set up in a corner of the hanger. It had been a while since either had a good workout with how busy they had been lately. Both had a lot of pent up energy they needed to dispel.  
  
"We should be out there hunting that guy while he's still in the city," Chance panted as he ran on the treadmill. "His trail's getting colder by the minute while we're just playing around in here."  
  
"And just how do we look for him?" Jake answered as he danced around a dangling punching bag. He gave it a few jabs then a savage kick. "That creep's gone underground by now. That's not exactly something we can track from the Turbokat. You know I hate to admit it, buddy, but the Enforcers are better equipped to search for this guy than we are. Not to mention if the KBI are getting involved, we don't want to go anywhere near that."  
  
Chance growled as he ran in place, knowing his partner was right. The SWAT Kats were used to taking care of the big, blatant monster threats on the city. They had no knowledge of Megakat's criminal underground. They wouldn't even know where to start looking for Bombay or anyone who might know of his whereabouts.  
  
Then, of course, there was also the KBI. Neither vigilante wanted to be put on their radar. Maybe the Enforcers didn't have the resources to track down the true identities of the SWAT Kats, but the government just might if they wanted to hunt them down badly enough. The two pilot's paws were tied for now. All they could do was keep their ears and eyes on the news band and wait.  
  
As such, the small screen mounted in the corner was on, broadcasting the news channel while the two kats worked out. The word "Furfax" scrolled across the screen, immediately catching Chance's eye.  
  
"Woah, something's up," he said, catching Jake's attention as he turned up the volume.  
  
The brown tom moved next to Chance's jogging form as they watched the screen.  
  
"Again, we have just received new information about the burning car found five miles outside the city limits," Ann Gora was reporting. "Officials are suspecting foul play as it seems the fire was the result of a car bombing. It has just been confirmed that the car was registered to Purrson Heights multibillionaire Tawny Furfax."  
  
Jake's eyes widened in horror as he heard Chance stumble loudly off the treadmill.  
  
"What?" he asked, his voice hardly a whisper.  
  
"By the time Enforcers arrived at the scene, the flames had incinerated most of the evidence. Officials are now trying to confirm the identity of what remains of the body. Tawny Furfax was the key witness in the Vincent Bombay trial, of which Mr. Bombay was convicted to life in Alkatraz yesterday. He was reported missing during transport and still remains at large."  
  
Jake grabbed the remote to mute the broadcast and turned to his friend. "Hey buddy, are you going to be o--" He was cut off as a set of dumbbells flew in his direction.  
  
With a frustrated cry, Chance attacked the gym, any piece of equipment he could get a hold of. He threw the objects he could and tipped over anything that was too heavy, screaming the entire time. The chain holding the punching bag broke with a mighty swing before Chance turned his attention to the wall itself and punched the concrete.  
  
"Chance, stop!" Jake grabbed his arm. "You're just hurting yourself."  
  
The burly tom's face was a sneer of anger, but there were tears lining his eyes. Tears he would never allow himself to spill. Instead, he closed his eyes and thunked his head against the wall.  
  
"I never should have let her go," he said, suddenly soft. "I should have stayed with her or made her come home with us or... something."  
  
"You had no way of knowing this was going to happen," Jake said gently. “Wanting to get her out of the city was a good call.”  
  
Chance's forehead still rested against the wall. His eyes opened as his fists clenched. This time his voice held a deep growl.  
  
"Jake, we're hunting down that skuzball ourselves. And when we find him,” Chance's tone turned deep, “I'm going to kill him."

 


	4. Vigilante

**Masks**

  
**Chapter Four: Vigilante**

  
**EARLIER THAT DAY**

  
Vincent Bombay sat in his own dark cloud inside the prison truck. The shackles were heavy on his wrists and ankles and he was furious. It wasn't supposed to go down this way. That annoying rich broad had ruined everything with her testimony. She had gotten fat off the money her father had stolen from him. Him! Vinnie Bombay had been taken for a schmuck by a little girl who had hidden in her daddy's closet.

That little bitch kept coming back like a cockroach, no matter how many times he had tried to squash her. Now she had sent him up the river for good. Even the reward he had offered for his escape before he made it to the island seemed to be a bust. The Enforcers were most likely watching his own boys far too closely for any one of them to be able to make a move.

No matter, Vincent Bombay was resourceful, too. He was already making other plans. He knew guys on the inside at Alkatraz. It would only take him a few weeks to get connected to the outside and he would start planning from there. That thought caused him to grin slightly at the armed guard sitting across from him. Even the most impenetrable prison Megakat had to offer wouldn't stop him for long.

The prison truck rumbled to a halt and Bombay heard the doors open and close. This was it. The last time he would be on the mainland for a while. The back doors opened and the guard inside stood to greet the two officers outside. The kats just looked at the guard in the truck and nodded at him. Everything was so quiet. Out the back doors, Bombay could only see the beach. No other kats in sight. No boat.

Something was not right here.

He grinned. Or maybe something was very right.

"This a break out? One of my boys put you guys up to this?"

The guards didn't say anything. They all just looked at him silently. Blankly. There was no life in their faces. Bombay couldn't see the pupils of their eyes.

"What the?!" he sputtered as he stumbled back. His shackles tripped him and he fell on his tail.

Bombay looked up in time to see the guard in the truck raise the butt of his rifle. For a split second, the mobster caught a glimpse of something up the guard's sleeve. Something green, organic and throbbing wrapped around the kat's arm under his clothing.

Then there was a solid blow to Bombay's head and he didn't remember anything else.

* * *

 

  


Though Molly Mange would never admit it out loud, life was good. It was a lot better than it had been for a long time. And she almost had to owe it to the SWAT Kats. Though again, she would die before she gave those two jerks any credit.

When she and Mac had woken up in Hackle's rinky dink little lab out in the middle of nowhere, there was horror at her new metal body. Then there was exhilaration. Ten times their normal strength, bullet proof, ageless. The sheer feeling of being invincible went to their heads. The second the couple had busted out on their own they were filled with far grander ideas than they had ever had when flesh and fur. Instead of being satisfied with running the criminal underground, they wanted to rule the whole city. Several times they tried, all foiled by the SWAT Kats and their ideals continued to go unfulfilled.

It was the Zed incident that finally caused the couple to change their plans. They learned a hard lesson that even in their current forms they could be hurt, they could feel fear, and they could still be functioning while they were taken apart piece by piece. That experience had been a real wake up call and the Metallikats decided it was time to go back to what they knew, to the business they had always been good at.

They went back underground and started a new gang, this time under the radar of the SWAT Kats. As it turned out, business was good for the Metallikats. Every low life in the city wanted to be in their favor. It didn't take long before they got themselves connections with an illicit cybernetic syndicate. Mac, being reduced to just a head after the Zed incident, was given a full body again. Molly's arm was returned to her with upgrades. And while they were at it, several other kats under Metallikat employ decided they wanted to jump on the bandwagon as well.

Illegal cybernetics were fast becoming the way of the future. Soon every kat in the gang had exchanged a piece of themselves for a robot upgrade. The name Metallikat now represented a full cyborg gang and they had taken over the criminal underbelly of Megakat City in a year. There wasn't an illegal dollar exchanging paws were the Metallikats didn't get a cut. Weapons and drugs were going out and the money was rolling in.

Business was good. Better than it had ever been before their change. Better than when the duo had set off to rule the city on their own. There were many ways to be in charge and the Metallikats had finally found their calling. Yes, Molly had to admit as she propped her long legs on the table and surveyed their cushy little hideout, life was good.

"Molly, why don't you get off your can and help the boys with this latest shipment?" Mac said as he approached her.

Molly glanced over at their members who were lugging in large, heavy crates filled with the newest automatic weaponry. Even with her robot features, the distaste was clear.

"You gotta be joking. I ain't gettin' my new dress dirty." Molly was wearing clothes again now that the dough was rolling in. Currently she was in a bright red number with a high slit and knee high boots. "Besides, I'm the brains of this operation. I don't do the grunt work around here."

"You don't do much of anything," Mac shot back.

Any retort from his wife was cut short when a few silver canisters rolled into the room from an unseen source. Before any kat could figure out what they were, heavy smoke spilled out, completely enveloping the room.

"What the?!" Mac sputtered before he lost all visibility of his crew.

There were startled cries, the sounds of automatic fire and the sizzle of electricity hidden within the smoke. One of the kats stumbled out, coughing. His sleeves were rolled up, showing off the full cybernetic arm he was so proud of.

"Scratch, what's going on?" Molly demanded, now on her feet.

"Someone's in there, taking out our guys," Radar coughed.

Molly's optics widened. "The SWAT Kats!"

"How'd they find us?" Mac asked, grabbing the nearest weapon.

Radar saw a figure lurking in the smoke. He aimed his robotic fist toward it. A laser gun extended from his arm and he fired several shots into the mist. In response, a small silver object was lobbed back. It attached magnetically to Radar's arm and the kat immediately felt his world explode in pain as the entire arm began to fritz and over heat. He cried out in horror as his beloved cybernetics blew up in his face, throwing him into the wall and knocking him out cold.  
"Blast those SWAT Kats," Mac growled. "I'm gonna fill them full of lead."

"Don't miss," Molly hissed.

"Shut up! I can't aim with you yammering!"

A rope with four prongs on the end shot out, grabbing Mac like a toy in a claw machine and zipping him into the smoke with a startled cry.

"Mac!" Molly barked. Her temper surged. "Okay, I'm through playing around."

She picked up the desk where she had been sitting, effortlessly flipping the heavy piece of furniture and slamming it flat side down on the floor. The force of the act chased away all the smoke in an instant, revealing what was left of her crew.

Some kats were hunched on the ground moaning, metallic parts of them sparking. Others were out cold. Mac was in the middle of the floor, face down and wrapped up tightly like a present. On top of him crouched a kat in a gas mask and dark suit.

Molly cautiously stepped forward, eying the unfamiliar form. "You're no SWAT Kat."

Black Kat slid off her mask, shaking out her blonde hair. "No, I'm not."

Molly looked the masked she kat up and down and huffed. "Just who are you supposed to be little kitten? You think you're tough enough to play vigilante in this town?" She raised her arm, the new one she had repaired. It transformed into a large energy cannon. "You picked the wrong place to start building a name for yourself."

Black Kat held up a circular device in her thumb and forefinger, placing it on Mac's forehead and leaving a finger pressed against it.

"Hey, what's that?" Mac demanded, struggling ineffectually.

"You saw what one of these did to your friend over there," Black Kat said with a glance at Radar's unconscious body. "Imagine what it would do to your hubby here if I unleash this little gizmo on his main processor."

"What?" Mac squawked, struggling harder. The thick rope held him tight.

"If my finger goes off this button, it will fry his neural net. Everything that makes him the charming kat you know and love will be gone and you'll be scooping out his circuits with a spoon."

"Molly!" Mac panicked. "Don't let this crazy broad do anything to me!"

"Quiet," Molly barked, gun still trained on Black Kat. "What is it you want from us? If you think you're taking us back to the slammer--"

"I didn't come to bust any of you," she insisted. "I want Vinnie Bombay. I want to know where he's hiding. You give him up and I'll be on my way."

"Bombay?" Molly huffed and lowered her weapon a little. "Boy you're scratching at the wrong post. We don't fraternize with Purrson Heights trash."

Black Kat narrowed her eyes. "With all your connections, you don't know anything? I don't believe you."

"Believe what you want, sister, he ain't here."

"You better give me something or your act is going to go solo, _sister_."

Below her boots, Mac panicked. "Bombay put word out on the streets, he would offer two mil to anyone who could bust him out before he got to Alkatraz!"  
Black Kat eyed him warily. "And you two weren't interested at all in that fat prize? I don't buy it."

"Yeah, we sent somebody," Molly said defensively. "But by the time our guys got there, Bombay was already gone. All they found was that empty prison truck."

"So who helped him escape then?"

"We don't know. Our guys didn't see nothing."

"I... I saw something," came a hesitant voice.

All three turned their heads to see a younger kat, barely 20, holding a bloodied nose.

"What do you know about it, Glitch?" Molly accused.

Glitch was the youngest member of the Metallikat's immediate gang. He was a homeless kid that got his start by being a runner, picking up packages and sending information. He knew the underground tunnels below Megakat City like the back of his paw and could get to certain places quickly without being noticed. The only reason he had earned himself a place in the immediate gang was with his unique power.

No one knew how he got it, if he had any special implants or not. The kid looked completely normal on the outside. But he had the ability to summon powerful electric charges through his body. One zap from him could knock a kat off their feet. That ability made him special enough to be able to call himself one of the Metallikat's boys. The side effect of such a power, however, caused the young kat to twitch every once in a while from the energy coursing through him. Hence how he earned his name.

"Earlier when I was running through the tunnels," the young kat said softly. "That Bombay guy that's always on TV, I saw him, but he was out cold. He was being carried by some other kats in Enforcer uniforms. But they looked... wrong."

"Wrong how?" Black Kat asked.

"Their faces were blank. Like they were just on automatic, like someone was controlling them. Their eyes glowed in the darkness and I saw... the kat in the back I saw his neck. He had something attached to it, something alive."

Black Kat's eyes widened for a moment then narrowed again. "Where did you see them?"

"In the tunnels under the Megakat water processing plant."

"Gah, Glitch! Don't tell her!" Molly growled.

"But--but the boss..."

"I'm the boss!"

"Shut up, Molly!" Mac cut in.

While their attention was diverted, Black Kat threw a handful of tiny beads at Molly's feet. They exploded in a fanfare of bright sparks, overloading her optics and temporarily blinding her.

Glitch had to look away from the bright lights as well, his eyes so accustomed to the darkness of the underground tunnels. When he glanced back, the masked she kat was right in front of him.

"Thanks for the help, sweety," she purred and kissed his cheek.

That was more than poor Glitch could handle. His cheeks flushed as his heart pounded and he reacted out of reflex. Behind the vigilante, Mac had managed to free himself and was coming after the masked she kat. But Glitch had already fired off an arc of energy, shooting wildly at whatever was near by. Black Kat managed to dodge out of the way just in time for Mac to catch the full force of the energy attack. It was like being hit with a bolt of lightning. His body spasmed as his vocalizer fritzed. He fell to the ground twitching.

Molly look at her smoking husband and growled. She opened fire on Black Kat with her massive energy cannon. Again, the she kat was missed as she narrowly moved out of the way. What Molly did hit was a crate of high powered weaponry and the entire shipment exploded on contact.

Black Kat fired a line from her wrist toward the ceiling, out a broken window. She was whisked up into the air, the heat of the explosion at her back. Molly's angry screams about her new dress were soon drowned out. The explosion knocked out all the windows on the roof, sending Black Kat's body hurling into the night air.

* * *

  


"Woah, woah! Do you see that T-Bone?" Razor said from the cockpit.

His partner frowned at the glow of fire burning in the distance. It could be trouble, but not necessarily the kind of trouble he was looking for. Bombay wouldn't be anywhere near that if he was trying to get quietly out of the city. And he was the one on T-Bone's hit list.

"I guess we should go check it out," he said as he begrudgingly steered the Turbokat toward the flames.

Firefighters were already arriving on the scene. So were the Enforcers. T-Bone was glad, there didn't see any reason for the SWAT Kats to get involved. Everything looked taken care of. As T-Bone surveyed the area one last time, he noticed a figure standing on a rooftop, trying to wave them down. Now this was one kat he was happy to see. Maybe she knew something they didn't.

"Hey Razor, there's your girlfriend. Let's pick her up."

Razor opened his mouth for the traditional "she's not my girlfriend" comeback. But then realized it wouldn't do anything to stop his partner's teasing so he just kept quiet.

The Turbokat landed on the roof and the pilots leapt out. Despite T-Bone's teasing, Razor would have been lying if he said he wasn't happy to see Black Kat. Though her charred and disheveled appearance took him aback.

"Woah, what happened to you? Are you okay?"

Black Kat coughed a little and tried to smooth out her tail which was frizzed from the electric feedback. "Yeah, I'm okay. It's just been a rough night."

Razor noticed for the first time that her tail wasn't solid gray, but had a subtle row of stripes. So much for his Mayven theory, especially since said she kat had been wounded and was now recovering in Purrson Heights.

"Your handy work?" he asked, nodding toward the flaming building a block over.

"Sort of. I dropped by the Metallikat's gang for a talk, but they weren't satisfied with a mere exchange of words."

"Wow, you've really been busy. How did you find their hideout so fast?"

Black Kat dug into her belt, pulling out a device the size of a pocket book. "Believe me, the one thing I know how to do is hunt down gangsters. You just need to follow the money trail."

"Forget the Metallikats, we're after Bombay," T-Bone growled with force. "Are you going to help us look for him or what?"

Black Kat's eyes widened for a moment at the emotion behind that statement. The larger kat suddenly seemed far more intimidating.  
Razor cut in to defuse tension. "We've decided to get ourselves involved over what happened. You've probably heard what happened to the last witness after Bombay's escape."

The she kat's shoulders relaxed. She closed her eyes as she let out a heavy breath. "Tawny Furfax... I tried so hard..."

"We're through with that scum running amoc in our city," T-Bone said angrily. "I'm going to find that guy and I'm going to end him personally."

She raised an eyebrow at him and then turned back to her device, folding it open. "Well I'm making sure he goes back to Alkatraz for good," she said with finality. "He's not slithering out of this."

The device in her hand projected a holographic screen in front of its user. Black Kat began to navigate the system by pressing buttons on the hologram.

Razor was instantly intrigued at the gadget. "T-Bone, I know what I want for Christmas."

"Ask Santa, I'm broke," T-Bone huffed. He watched the she kat work as well. "What exactly are you looking at?"

"I'm digging through Megakat schematics of their tunnel systems. I found a witness who said he saw Bombay being carted off underground by his Enforcer escorts."

"And why would the Enforcers do that?"

"They were being controlled by the same nasty slugs we all saw the other night."

"Viper," Razor and T-Bone said together.

"Exactly," Black Kat nodded to them. "These guys were seen in the tunnels near the water purifying plant. The tunnels are warm and damp down there, perfect for a reptile like him."

"But why is Doctor Viper getting involved in this?" T-Bone asked. "It doesn't make sense."

"Try the two million dollars Bombay offered to anyone who could spring him out," the she kat responded. "That could buy a lot of hard to find chemicals on the black market. So how about it, boys? They say only a fool follows a snake into its lair, but I figure three fools have a better chance than just one."

T-Bone and Razor looked at each other for only a second.

"We're in," they said in unison.

* * *

  


Vincent Bombay fell into consciousness as his body was dropped none too gently on the ground. The first thing he noticed was the smell. Stale air perfumed with the stench of rot and stagnant water. His nose wrinkled and he coughed.

"What's going on around here?" he demanded as he pawed around in the darkness, waiting for his eyes to adjust.

"Vincccent Bombay," said a voice as dry as old leaves. "You've been quite a ccccelebrity here lately."

Bombay noticed he was no longer in shackles. He stood up tall, adjusting his prison jumper as if it were a million dollar suit. "Yeah? And who are you?"

In the darkness, two glowing yellow eyes peered out at him, accompanied with a very unkat-like hissing sound. Bombay found himself taking a few steps back despite his earlier bravado. He bumped into another body and instantly spun around.

Three sets of white eyes glowed dimly. Bombay noticed all three kats were wearing Enforcer uniforms and readied himself.

"They will not harm you," Dr. Viper said as he slid out of the pitch blackness. "They are completely under my control."

Bombay couldn't help but openly stare at the mutated kat. He had heard of Doctor Viper, everyone had. Not just for his mutating accident, but for the bizarre and devastating chaos he had caused in Megakat City. But all of the stories couldn't compare to seeing the real deal in person. Viper's hunched form was hairless, paws deformed and skin a sickly, scaly green. He was half the size of Bombay but the mob boss couldn't help but feel there was power and venom underneath that hide that could turn on him in an instant.

On the other side were the blank faced Enforcers. Bombay looked them over for a moment, trying to figure out what was wrong with them. Then he noticed the unnatural squirming beneath the uniforms.

"What the--?" he wondered as he took a step back.

"I assssure you, they are completely under by control. No need to worry," Viper said with a hiss.

Bombay didn't ask. He wasn't sure he wanted to know. Dr. Viper's mad, mutated world wasn't exactly something he wanted to be a part of.

"Okay, so what now? How we gonna do this? You know I gotta get out of the city, right?"

"Of courssse. Your essscorts have been waiting for you, Mr. Bombay."

Viper gestured to the shadows and two familiar figures emerged. Bombay instantly recognized them as two of his kats and immediately felt better about the whole situation.

"Your releassse has already been paid for, Mr. Bombay." Viper held up the metal case in his claws. "It was a pleasssure doing businesssss with you. Perhapsss we could establisssssh even further connectionssss. They have quite a few interessssting geneticssss ressssearch in Purrssssson Heightsss."

"What?" Bombay demanded. "No way, snake. You ain't slithering into my town. Megakat trash stays here."

Viper didn't appear too offended. The mutated kat merely continued to look at him with glowing eyes. "Are you sssure you don't want to reconsssider? I'm sssure there are many wayssss we can asssissst each other."

That voice made Bombay's skin crawl and his fur stand on end. He didn't want anything to do with Viper any more than he had to. Even with this, he loathed that he owed his freedom to such a repulsive creature. Despite more than adequate payment for the favor, Bombay couldn't help but feel he still owed the snake some how. That was something he couldn't live with. He couldn't ever chance Viper crawling up to his door, asking him for a favor in return. No, this loose end needed to be tied up now.

"You know what? I have had a change of mind," Bombay said in a haughty tone. He turned to his boys. "Bobby, Itchy, I don't like how I was handled and I'd like a refund. Plug this guy."

His two thugs didn't move.

"Yo, Bobby, you hear me?" He snapped his fingers in the first kat's face. No reaction. Bombay began to feel the panic welling up. "Itchy?"

The other kat's face was blank. Just as blank as the Enforcers. Viper's dry laugh could be heard at his back as Bombay stared in horror at the pulsating movement beneath the clothes of his two thugs.

"They can't hear you," Viper gloated. "Just a little inssssurance. I don't trust anyone."

Fear turned into anger. No one double crossed Vincent Bombay. He whirled around, fists clenched in rage.

"You sick little freak! If you think you--"

He yelped as Viper's thick, strong tail whipped around, knocking his legs right out from under him. Bombay landed flat on his back, the air escaping his lungs. His boys, Bobby and Itchy moved mindlessly to hold him down. Now Bombay was scared. He had never felt fear like this before as Viper crouched close to his face, a syringe in his hand.

"Missster Bombay, you will be helping me with my experimentssss one way or another," Viper said lowly.

"No! Please, no!" Bombay screamed as the needle moved closer. "I'll pay you anything! Please don't!"

He cried out as the needle pierced his neck and a thick substance was forced inside. The kats holding him down moved away as Bombay's cries turned from fear to pain. He writhed on the ground, clutching himself as his entire body felt like it was on fire. Massive lumps under his skin began to grow and move, distorting his form. A scream of agony rocked the tunnels.

Dr. Viper watched the sick show calmly, a small satisfied smile on his face. "Welcome to Megakat Ccccity, Mr. Bombay."

* * *

  


As usual, the SWAT Kats had just the vehicles for the job. They were modified versions of the wave runners they had used the time Viper flooded the city. Razor had termed them "Prowlers" and they were now hovercrafts built for land and water. They were much smaller than the Cyclotron to allow them to fit in the sometimes tiny tunnels below ground.

Of course there were only two vehicles. Razor pretended that he didn't feel warm where the she kat had her arms wrapped around his mid section. Since she had the map, they were in the lead with T-bone following behind. Every now and then Black Kat would rest her chin on his shoulder to speak directions in his ear above the whooshing of the air around them. Razor did his best not to let on that her voice sent delicious prickles down his spine.

They searched the maze of tunnels beneath the water treatment plant systematically, looking for the most likely areas Viper would use for a nest. Some place warm and dry, but with an accessible water source and a supply of electricity.

The group of masked kats didn't find anything promising until they arrived at their third probable location. Razor slowed the Prowler as they emerged from a narrow pipe until a large underground dome. The air was warm and sticky, a slab of concrete raised above the water level surrounding the area. There were immediate signs that someone had been living there.

"Bingo," Razor said quietly as he let the Prowler silently float up to dry land.

T-Bone pulled up next to him. "All the comforts of home," he said drolly.

Razor jumped off his Prowler before offering Black Kat a paw. T-Bone was already nosing around the lair. There was a sort of nest in one corner made out of random plant materials and other odds and ends. It had a sickly sweet smell that made the pilot wrinkle his noise. Razor and Black Kat met him at the make shift lab. A few warped tables covered with stains and empty beakers, a centrifuge with a few broken tubes.

Black Kat swiped a gloved finger over the mouth of a beaker. "Little bit of dust, but he's been here fairly recently."

"Looks like he finished whatever it was he was working on," Razor observed. "All the containers are empty."

"So what would be his next move then? How do we find this guy?" the she kat asked.

With a growl, T-Bone whipped his arm across the table, sending several glass containers shattering on the ground. "I don't want Viper! I want that scuzzball mobster!" He punctuated his statement by slamming both fists on the table. The rotten piece of wood completely collapsed under his strength. The next table was on the receiving end of T-Bone's wrath as he tossed it on its side, spilling glass everywhere.

Razor flinched at the outburst, but didn't say a thing.

Black Kat looked worried. Not so much scared of the large, angry tom, but afraid for him. She moved toward T-Bone, but Razor grabbed her paw and gently held her back.

"Give him a moment," Razor said quietly. "He's been having a bad day."  
Without anything else to break, T-Bone ripped off his own helmet and chucked it with a frustrated cry. It bounced harmlessly off the wall and rolled back toward his feet.

At that point, Razor realized he was still holding Black Kat's paw and made himself let go. The she kat didn't seem to notice either way, her focus was on T-Bone.

Gingerly she approached the larger tom. She raised a paw to touch his shoulder, but thought better of it and let her arm drop again.

"It will be okay," she said softly.

T-Bone shot her a harsh looked before going back to stare at the ground.

Black Kat closed her eyes, breathing deep as she wrestled with a decision. It wasn't in her plans, but maybe now was the time to do it. "T-Bone, I--"

"Wait!" Razor cut in, his voice full of urgency.

He had suddenly noticed something they had missed. In the back, hidden in the shadows, were a group of crudely made cages varying in size. All seemed to be empty and intact, except one. A fairly large one was bent and broken, as if something had forced its way out from the inside.  
There was a very animalistic growl from somewhere in the shadows. Something large and heavy sprang out in their midst. T-Bone shoved Black Kat protectively behind him, keeping himself between her and the creature.

It moved on four legs with pointed ears, large thick talons, and a heavy, bone-crushing jaw. Its skin was hairless and dark with a long lizard-like tail. T-Bone growled at the thing, determined not to show he wasn't intimidated. The monster snarled back and tensed to pounce.

Razor shot it with cement right in the eyes before it could pounce. The creature roared in fury. It blindly lashed out in Razor's direction. A frog-like tongue covered in barbs whipped from the mouth. Razor tried to dodge it, but it slashed his leg, cutting through his suit to the skin. He rolled along the ground and quickly checked his injury. Not too deep, he should be okay.

"Hey!" T-Bone yelled at the mutation. "No one hurts my partner!"

The creature was still trying to rub the cement of its face with a massive paw. T-Bone fired two electric missiles at the beast. It howled as it was electrocuted, but the attack only made it angrier. It lunged at T-Bone. The big kat took the brunt of the hit, landing on his back with the snarling creature on top, snapping its jaws for a taste of the SWAT Kat.

"T-Bone!" Razor tried to run to his partner's aid, but his injured leg suddenly felt so heavy. All too fast, he felt his motor skills leaving him. It was like trying to move through molasses. His limbs were starting to go numb. What was happening to him?

T-Bone was continuing to struggle not to get his head bitten clean off by the snapping jaws. Black Kat tossed a bola. It wrapped around the monster's muzzle, trapping it shut. The creature was suddenly distracted as it scratched at its face and tried to free itself. T-Bone kicked free, scrambling to his feet. He looked over for his partner to find Razor flat on the ground.

"Razor!"

The beast had snapped the ropes and was stalking toward the prone SWAT Kat.

"Black Kat, help Razor," T-Bone said. "I'll handle Fido."

She put a few capsules in his paw. "Get these into its mouth and it will be out like a light."

He grinned. "Roger that."

The two surged forward. Black Kat slid protectively next to Razor while T-Bone rushed the side of the mutation, thrusting all his weight and power into the attack. He sent both of them flying away from his vulnerable partner.

As the two fought, Black Kat slid an arm under Razor's head, trying to assess his condition. For his part, Razor was wide awake and completely aware of what was going on, he just couldn't move any of his limbs. Black Kat reached for his face. For a moment, Razor was afraid she would remove his mask. But all she did was check the temperature of his cheek and neck.

"Well you don't have a fever, that's good."

"Paralyzed..." Razor managed to rasp through tight vocal cords.

Black Kat glanced at the wound on his leg and then everything made sense. "T-Bone! Nevermind what I said! Stay away from its mouth! It will paralyze you!"

"Great, now she tells me," T-Bone muttered as he and the beast circled each other. To Black Kat he called, "Just try to get Razor out of here if you can."

Black Kat was trying to figure out just that. As slight as Razor's build, he was all muscle which made him heavier than he looked. She wasn't so sure she could get him onto one of the Prowlers, let alone be able to drive it while holding onto the immobile SWAT Kat at the same time.

She reached into her belt and pulled out a syringe. "I have an idea. It's a little drastic, but it's the only one I got."

"What is it?" Razor asked weakly.

"Adrenaline."

Razor looked at it for a moment. "Do it."

"You're a braver kat than I, Razor."

She put the syringe in his arm. After a few moments, Razor jerked up with a coughing gasp, sucking air into his lungs as if he had been running a marathon. His body jerked as he tried to find control over himself.

Black Kat grabbed his panicked body, clutching him tight. "I've got you," she said gently. "Calm down, breathe."

She rubbed his arm, sending sensation back into the skin. The complete numbness of Razor's limbs gave way to a horrible prickling sensation as if they had all been asleep. Unfortunately, even though he could still move, his motor skills were clumsy and weak.

"I could use some help here if possible," T-Bone called.

Anything in his Gloveatrix just wasn't quite suitable for a monster like this. Most missiles just made the beast mad. The net he fired was too small to properly hold it. And since he now couldn't get anywhere near the mouth, he was running out of options.

"I've got some darts here," Razor said, shakily reaching for a pouch on his belt. "They're tranquilizers." His Gloveatrix was frustratingly heavy to lift. Black Kat took it off and he did his best to show her how to load and fire it. "Hopefully three will be enough for something that size."

"Got it," she said as she put on the large glove.

Without her support on his back, Razor immediately fell backwards again with a heavy thunk.

"Oh, sorry," she said.

"I'm fine. I'm wearing a helmet," Razor sighed.

"I'll be back for you," Black Kat said, blowing him a kiss.

Razor sighed again as she ran off, feeling rather pathetic. "I'll be here," he mumbled.

Meanwhile, T-Bone had fired the last of his nets, only succeeding in tangling up the mutation's legs for a few moments. Black Kat ran in and fired all three darts, embedding them in its side. The creature snarled and fought to free itself. Since it didn't seem to be tiring, Black kat continued to rush it, barreling into its head, pinning it down with her body weight.

"Now, T-Bone, put them in its mouth. Use your gloved hand."

T-Bone was there in an instant, shoving the capsules she had given him into the creatures mouth as carefully as he could. He jumped back as the monster snapped at him, its jaws now foaming up. It shook the she kat off of it and then got to its feet. It only made it a few steps, however, before it stumbled to the ground, completely out cold.

The two masked kats watched it, tensed and silent. All that moved was the beast's chest as it breathed heavily.

Black Kat breathed out. "Hopefully that will last for a few hours. I can let the Enforcers know it's here-- uh," she paused when she reminded herself it wasn't her turf, "unless you want to?"

"Knock yourself out," T-Bone said with disinterest. "The Enforcers and us don't exactly talk. Besides, I gotta get Razor out of here."

Razor was doing his best to get to his feet, but his legs were shaky and weak. They still felt somewhat numb and he wasn't having much luck. T-Bone stood over him and Razor's eyes widened in horror.

"No, T-Bone! No!" he protested. "Please don't--"

It was too late, T-Bone had already effortlessly hefted the lighter kat over his shoulder.

"I'll get you back for this," Razor vowed in low tones to his partner's back, his arms dangling uselessly.

"There will be other times to impress the ladies, hot shot," T-Bone responded.

To add to his humiliation, Razor had to sit on the Prowler with T-Bone in front of the burly kat so he could drive and keep his weakened partner on the vehicle at the same time. Black Kat took the other Prowler and the masked kats left the ruined lab and the sleeping monstrosity behind.

* * *

  


It was 4 AM. Felina was up and ready for her morning work out before reporting in for her shift. She loved being a morning kat, up and on the prowl before the rest of the katizens were awake. It was her quiet reflective time before the chaos of her job descended upon her.

She flung open her curtains, expecting to see the peaceful cityscape just before dawn from her apartment window. Instead, there was a kat crouched outside, blocking her view.

Felina gave a startled gasp, stumbling back and immediately reaching for her gun. Her paw gripped only air. She was in her sweats and not wearing her holster.

The kat on the other side of the glass was female, gray fur with platinum blonde hair. She was wearing a mask. The she kat knocked politely on the glass.

Frowning, Felina unlocked and raised her window. "How did you get up here?" she immediately demanded.

"Good morning to you, too," Black Kat responded in a chipper voice. "I brought you a present." She handed Felina a key chain flash drive that looked like a happy cartoon fish.

"Cute," Felina muttered, dangling it from one finger.

"It contains a map of the tunnels below the Megakat water purification plant. You'll find one of Doctor Viper's old hidey holes. And, if you hurry, one of his sleeping creations."

Felina's eyes widened. "Why are you going after Viper? I thought your business was only with Bombay."

"I found a witness stating Viper was the one who orchestrated Bombay's escape, using those nasty slugs of his to control your Enforcer escorts."

"And you found proof of that in this lair?"

Black Kat sighed. "Unfortunately, no. But it's the best I have to go on so far. I thought I'd let you guys know so we can close in on that rat."

"Why?" Felicia asked suspiciously. "The SWAT Kats never tell us anything."

"I'm not the SWAT Kats. Look, I don't care who collars Bombay or who gets the credit. I just want him behind bars. I'll tell anyone everything I find if it puts him back in custody. I've worked too hard for this conviction to let him go now."

"Tell me who you really are, then," Felina shot back.

The masked kat smirked. "If I thought it would help me capture him, I just might. But right now there are more important things to attend to."

"Fine," Felina accepted. "I'll get a team down there."

"And something else." Black Kat produced a coin-sized black device with a red circle in the middle. "So you can get a hold of me later, we can exchange any new info."

Felina held the device in her palm with distaste as if she had just been given a dirty rock. "I'm not using this. If we find anything, I don't have to tell you jack."

Black Kat just shrugged, unoffended. "It's up to you, it only works one way. You can call me, I can't call you. But if you call me, we can be friends." She gave the lieutenant her cutest look, hands tucked under her chin. "Don't you want to be my friend?"

Felina snorted. "Batting those baby blues doesn't work on me." She shook her head and looked around for her holster. "Now get off my window sill." Under her breath she added. "Frigging blondes."

"Yeah, tell me about it," she heard Black Kat retort.

"But you are a blon--" Felina looked up and the window was empty. She moved to look out, but all she saw was the city in the fading darkness. No sign of the vigilante.

 


	5. Affectation

**Masks**  
**Chapter Five: Affectation**

 

The next morning, Chance showered and put on his work coveralls. It was Monday and the first day they had opened the garage in almost two weeks. Despite how rough the days have been recently, it felt good to get back to some semblance of his normal routine.

Jake was already dressed and in the office, trying to tidy up the place.

"How you feeling today, buddy?" Chance greeted.

"The last of the paralysis wore off. I've finally got feeling in my feet again."

"Good to hear, Jake. Um, listen. Would you mind terribly taking care of customers today? I don't feel like talking to anybody, I just want to work."

"Sure, Chance, anything you need. But...” He paused to put a paw on his taller partner's shoulder. “I know it's been rough for you lately, loosing a friend. But try not to let it get to you so bad. Last night, well, it was a little bit scary to see you like that."

Chance sighed heavily, lifting his cap so he could run his fingers through his fur. "I know what you mean. I'm sorry. I've just never been angry like this before. I've never wanted to actually kill someone before. Not even Dark Kat. Sure, I've had some fantasies of pounding him into the ground, but killing him..." He shook his head.

"I know it's wrong to feel this way. The SWAT Kats don't kill. I'm just... I'm trying to work through it."  
Jake patted him on the shoulder. "Take the time you need, bud. It will be okay. Although..." he glanced down at the schedule, "maybe you'll want to handle this first appointment we have."

Chance narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "What do you mean?"

His ears swiveled toward the door as he heard the sound of a very familiar engine. Chance had memorized that sound and could pick out that car blindfolded.

A few moments later, Callie Briggs stepped into the office. "Hey guys, I'm here for my oil change appointment."

"Morning Ms. Briggs," Jake greeted professionally as he fiddled with his paperwork. "Chance will get you taken care of."

He had to elbow Chance in the ribs to get him to stop standing there like a door stop.

"Uh yeah." Chance suddenly came to life. "Can I get your keys, Callie?"

A few minutes later, he pulled the car into the garage and lifted the hood. Normally, Callie would go sit in the waiting room, but for some reason she continued to stand around. The burly tom gave her a curious glance.

"Anything else you want me to look at, Callie?"

"Oh no, I just thought I'd see how you were doing."

Chance stopped fiddling with the parts under the hood and looked at her. "How I'm doing?"

Callie looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, after I saw you at the dinner, I did a little digging. That kat you were working for, Ms. Fairfax, you knew her from school, didn't you? That's why you were helping her."

"I've known her since we were kittens," Chance confirmed.

She put her paw on his arm. "I'm sorry for your loss."

He smiled at her. "Thanks."

Callie stayed out there with him. Jake could hear their voices converse from the waiting room. He was a little jealous that Chance was getting exclusive one on one time with the beautiful deputy mayor, but he wasn't going to interfere. He was doing this for his partner.

* * *

Commander Feral stepped into his office, looking forward to a few moments of quiet time. It had been a crazy morning. Felina had radioed in at the crack of dawn about getting team underground for an emergency evacuation of one of Dr. Viper's makeshift genetic labs.  


The first response team had been quite surprised to see a massive, sleeping beast amidst the wreckage. The creature was kept sedated for transfer to Megakat Bio-Chemical Labs for proper containment, study, and possibly a reverse mutation treatment.  


When confronted on how she knew about the lab, Felina reluctantly shared with her Uncle that Black Kat had given her the information earlier that morning. The masked she kat had also insisted that Viper was the one responsible for Vincent Bombay's escape and the disappearance of the Enforcer escorts. It was followed by vehement insistence that Felina was not turning into a vigilante supporter. Black Kat had singled out Felina on her own and the lieutenant had made it very clear that she was not interested in continuing contact with the masked kat.  


Feral supposed it was the most he could hope for. He couldn't control what vigilantes did, but he was glad Felina was still a kat of common sense. The last thing he needed was another Callie Briggs running around, sympathizing with criminals.  


He sat heavily at his desk, his mind full of all that had happened recently. There was an escaped convict, missing officers, and now Dr. Viper to worry about. The day couldn't possibly get any worse. Feral was so consumed with his problems, he didn't even notice the pretty package left on his desk until it was right in front of his nose.  


It was a white box tied with a red bow, no card attached. Feral's first thought was that it came from his niece; even though his birthday was still two weeks away and she wasn't usually the type to leave presents at work. Without thinking too much of it, Feral opened the box. Whatever was inside moved and he jumped to his feet in surprise.  


He stared at the creature crouched in the package. It looked like a fat, mutated frog. Feral looked at it, horrified, but the thing just sat there, watching him with large eyes. Despite its appearance, it seemed small and helpless. It made a cute little noise and Feral dared to learn closer to get a better look.  


The frog creature's mouth suddenly opened and a long tongue full of barbs shot out. Feral felt it break the skin of his neck and then his entire body went numb.

* * *

 

 

Callie was roughly awaken by the knock on her office door, a document stuck to her check. A quick glance out the window told her that the sun was setting and she should have left work a few hours ago. The piles and piles of budget reports were what had put Callie to sleep in the first place. She hurried to tidy them up as a second knock sounded.  


"Come in," Callie called as she quickly checked her reflection in a compact. She had left the building with ink on her face before.  


Only a brief glance of the broad silhouette in the doorway gave Callie all the information she needed. She turned her attention back to gathering up what paperwork she would take home with her.  


"Commander Feral, to what do I owe such a late visit?"  


Feral didn't respond, but she felt him approach until he was standing over her. Callie found herself getting annoyed with him. He was a good commander, but not even close to her favorite kat in the world.  


"Commander, I'm leaving soon," she said as she closed her briefcase. "If you don't tell me what you want, then--"  


When his heavy hand landed on her shoulder, she finally looked up. Fear suddenly filled her when she realized there was something very wrong with the commander. His face was blank, eyes completely white. On the paw that was touching her, she looked at the sleeve and saw something wriggling beneath it.

Gasping, Callie tried to squirm away, but Feral's grasp remained tight.  


"Commander, what's going on?" she demanded, trying to keep the panic out of her voice.  


She secretly tried to feel for her purse under the desk, but Feral seemed to sense what she was doing. He jerked her to her feet, pulling her away.  


"No so fasssst, Ms. Briggssss," hissed a slimy voice.  


"Viper," Callie shot as the snake slithered into the room.  


He smiled, baring all his fangs as he moved over to the desk and retrieved her purse. Digging into it, he pulled out the communicator she always kept with her. "Nice try, but I wouldn't want the SWAT Katsss to interfere until I'm ready for them."  


By then, Callie was openly struggling against Feral's hold. "What are you planning, you psycho?"  


Viper stuffed the communicator into his lab coat. "All in good time, Deputy Mayor. In the meantime," he produced something else from another pocket, "my little baby needs a new home."  


He opened his claws and Callie's eyes widened in horror at the grotesque slug with its open maw of teeth. The same kind she had seen a few nights ago in the gym. The creature hissed at her and stretched to wrap around her. Callie felt sick to her stomach and then her world tumbled out of control.

* * *

 

Chance worked like a kat possessed all day. The garage had been busy after the amount of time they had been closed. He used work to keep himself occupied, not allowing his mind to wander to less pleasant ideas. Hiding under car hoods kept his anger and frustrations at bay. Jake had to tear him away to remind him to eat.  


Even after dark, Chance was still going. Jake leaned against the door frame, watching his partner continue to be absorbed in his own world.  


"Not that I don't appreciate the huge dent you put into our workload today, buddy, but do you plan on sleeping tonight? You've already missed dinner."  


Chance mumbled an unintelligible answer to a headlight as he snapped the new cover in place. He took a clean rag from his pocket to shine up the areas he touched with greasy paws and then stood to look over his work.  


"Chance," Jake said patiently, reminding his partner he was still here.  


The larger tom glanced at him for a moment before picking up a clipboard full of work orders. "I'm going to keep working for a while longer. I don't think I can sleep right now. I need something to do."  


Jake nodded in acquiescence. He had his moments, too, where he needed to keep his paws occupied for one reason or another. He understood that need to stay busy, to make oneself useful after feeling so utterly helpless to change the situation. He would let Chance work as long as he wanted and maybe fix him a sandwich or something before going to bed.  


Sighing to himself, Jake left his partner to wander into the living room. He plopped on the couch and flipped on the nightly news. Not really paying attention to the weather report, he turned his attention to the pile of mail plopped next to the lamp. They had been too busy at the garage that day to even look through it yet.  


Without anything more pressing to do, Jake filtered through the junk mail and pulled out the legitimate envelopes. He paused at one in particular with his name and the Furfax Industries Logo on it. There was an identical one bearing Chance's name. Paychecks? With all that had been going on lately, Jake hadn't given a flirting thought to getting paid. He was sure Chance hadn't either. Maybe he would mention it to his partner tomorrow and leave Chance alone for tonight.  


Opening the letter, Jake let out a "Woah" when he saw the amount on the check. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't been harboring fantasies of marching up to Feral's desk in person and slapping a huge wad of cash in his face ever since they had taken the bodyguard position. The loss of the kat they had been paid to protect now embittered this money. He wasn't so sure they deserved it.  


Suddenly curious, Jake checked the date on the envelope. It was sent out that morning, same day delivery. The day after Tawny's car had been found. Maybe it was the assistant, Mayven's doing. Jake idly wondered who would run the Furfax company now that the CEO was dead and she had no other relatives.  


The alarm klaxon went off downstairs and all thoughts and paychecks were immediately tossed aside. Jake hurried to the hanger, sliding down the ladder. He was aware Chance was following behind him as he reached the speaker on the wall and pushed the glowing red button.  


"Yes, Ms. Briggs?"  


There was complete silence on the other end.  


"Uh, Ms. Briggs?"  


There was a rough cackle, like dry leaves on a windy day. It set the hair on Jake's neck straight up.  


"The Deputy Mayor is unavailable right now, Swat Katssss. I'll be taking all her callssss."  


"Callie," Chance muttered under his breath. Then he pushed forward to the speaker. "What did you do with her, you freak?"  


Viper's voice was full of glee and self satisfaction. "Why don't you come and find out?"  


"If you hurt her, Viper, I swear I'll--" The line went dead.  


In a blink, the pilots were dressed, masked, and in the sky, flying toward the city.  


"If Viper harms her in any way, I'm going to turn him inside out," T-Bone growled from the pilot seat.  


"Ditto," Razor agreed with a frown. "But we need to keep in mind that whatever Viper's been up to, he's ready for us. He's had time to prepare. He wants us to come, so we need to be smart and careful for Callie's sake."  


"Roger that. You got a fix on where that snake's hiding?"  


"The signal from Callie's communicator is still going strong. It seems to be coming from," Razor paused in surprise, "the Enforcer building?"  


T-Bone banked sharply away from the tall building as Enforcer headquarters loomed in the distance. "Crud, what's he doing there? How have the Enforcers not busted him, Razor? Something doesn't add up." There was a weight in his gut, growing larger and heavier by the minute.  


"Agreed,” Razor said. “We need to figure out what's going on before we just go crashing in there."  


"Roger that."  


The two pilots landed their jet on a separate rooftop, peering over the edge with night vision binoculars to try to get a feel for the situation.  


"Something smells rotten down there, bud," T-Bone mused as he eyed the building up and down.  


"Don't I know it," Razor said with distaste. "The sooner we figure out exactly what Viper's got up his sleeve the sooner we can save Callie."  


Most of the windows were dark, upper levels closed down, leaving just the night shift. But even with the late hour, the place seemed off its regular rhythm.  


"Razor, have you noticed that officers keep going in, but none are coming out?"  


"Yeah, but I don't know what that means. Maybe there's a meeting."  


T-Bone growled impatiently. "I still say we just crash through there in berserker mode and tear up every mutation we find."  


"I doubt Feral would be too happy about berserker mode if that distress signal ends up being a plant,” Razor counseled, “just so Viper can make us look like a couple of idiots. Arrested idiots if we're not careful."

"So instead, we're hiding out here like a pair of chickens." T-Bone clutched the binoculars so hard he heard them crack. "Oops."  


Razor sighed and handed T-Bone his own pair. "This is the reason we can't have nice things."  


"Hold on, Razor, I see something. I think I see Viper."  


"Really? _Inside_ the Enforcer building?" Razor attempted to get some use out of the broken pair of binoculars. In one of the mid floors, he did notice a hunched figure in a while coat skulking around. The form was pulling another kat along with him; tall and shapely.

Razor gasped. "He's got Callie!"  


"That's it, no more hiding," T-Bone announced as he stood and adjusted his Glovatrix.  


"Agreed."  


The SWAT Kats fired grappling hooks at the building, swinging in fearlessly toward the targeted floor. They burst through the glass, sending shards flying everywhere. Viper startled at their entrance, gaping at them with wide eyes. T-Bone didn't give the villain much time to react, shoving him out of the way. The burly kat grabbed Callie's paw, feeling her run obediently behind him as he pulled her through the office desks toward safety.  


Razor brought up the rear, launching a net over Viper to make sure he didn't endanger their escape. Getting Callie safely out of the building was first priority. Once she was out of harm's way, then they would go back and clean up whatever mess Viper had made.  


T-Bone surged toward the stairwell door, yanking it open and pulling Callie with him down the stairs. Only when they were two floors down did he stop to check on her.  


"You okay, Ms. Briggs? That little creep didn't hurt you, did he?"  


When he turned to inspect her for any physical injuries, he hardly got a glance before Callie threw her arms around his neck. T-Bone stood there, stunned despite his pleasant surprise. His secret fantasies always involved saving her from danger and then whisking her off to a safe place where he could enjoy her gratitude and affections all night. It felt so much better to feel her body pressed against him for real.  


"Uh, Callie?" he said uncertainly. Maybe now wasn't quite the time for this. "Ms. Briggs? I think maybe we should--"  


She pressed something to the back of his neck. It was furless and lumpy. As T-Bone suddenly realized he could only see white in Callie's eyes, he felt something sharp stab his neck. Then he felt nothing.  


Above, Razor was one level up, retreating slower to keep an eye on the rear. He knew Viper couldn't be held long in that net and he also knew Viper never came alone. The SWAT Kat kept his guard up for whatever nasty, mutated surprise was lurking in wait to attack.  


As he backed down the next flight, Razor bumped right into T-Bone's larger form. "How we looking, bud? Is the way clear down there?"  


No answer.  


"T-Bone?" Razor turned around and immediately knew something was very wrong.

T-Bone looked at him with a dead face. The same dead expression as Callie's. There was a large slug attached to the back of the burly kat's neck, growing longer and larger right before Razor's eyes as the thing began to wind its body slowly around his partner.  


"Looks like you're all alone, SSSSWAT Kat," Viper laughed from above as he came down the stairs.  


Razor whipped around to face the villain. "No one messes with my partner," he said lowly, leveling his Glovatrix.  


Viper was not intimidated. "Get him!" he ordered.  


Razor felt the odds tip completely out of his favor as both T-Bone and Callie moved after him. There was no way he could fight them. He didn't want to hurt his partner, and especially Ms. Briggs. He would never forgive himself. He had to come up with an alternate plan. Maybe if he could get close enough to them he could--  


All plots were halted in their tracks when T-Bone fired his Glovatrix. Mini match-head missiles shot at the smaller SWAT Kat and Razor had nowhere to go but down. Leaning backward over the railing, he hastily back-flipped into open air. Razor managed to grab the rail two floors down and quickly scrambled onto the stairs and through the door before any more missiles could be fired at him.  


"Blassst," Viper cursed as he stepped down to join his new puppets. He knew from experience that even one SWAT Kat loose in a building was one SWAT Kat too many. Nevertheless, having one of the vigilantes on his side was better than none. The stronger, more aggressive one at that.  


"Come, my children. There is ssstill more work to do." He descended the stairs, his two puppets following mindlessly at his tail. It wouldn't be wise to follow after the remaining SWAT Kat. Now was the time to regroup and gather his numbers. They emerged onto the main lobby where sightless Enforcer sentinels were posted at every exit.

Viper was smirking to himself as he gazed over his new building acquisition. He had never considered the Enforcer building to be a prime target in his machinations. But it really was a most magnificent structure. The interior lobby was decorated proudly with lush rugs and banners all displaying the Enforcer emblem. The front entrance was contained in a sheer wall of glass going up five stories, each level visible upon entrance. It rendered the lobby space open, alive and full of sunshine. And what reptile didn't like to have a nice place to sun themselves during the day?  


Thorny, green tendrils now decorated the interior walls of the building. Every now and then, they would twitch and creep higher. The reptilian-like vines was slowly swallowing everything on the bottom floor. It made Viper feel right at home. Perhaps he would keep the Enforcer building as his fortress, remodel it into a symbol of his genius and power. A regal edifice, jutting out from the cityscape, forever reminding the denizens of his new reich who was in charge.  


"Oh no," a voice griped upon his approach, momentarily bursting Viper's daydream bubble.  


For a moment, the scientist's scowl returned as he was reminded of the painful black eye in his otherwise brilliant plan. Lieutenant Felina Feral glowered at him. It was she who had protested when she saw that T-Bone was now one of Viper's mindless numbers.  


Felina's dark, intelligent eyes watched every move, every flick of his scaly tail, with hatred. A quivering slug was attached to the base of her neck, wrapped openly around her body, thorns digging in. She winced now and then from the sharp discomfort, but her eyes remained clear and her actions were her own. Or at least they would be if she weren't tied to a chair.  


To add insult to injury, not only was Felina tied up with a mutant worm sucking her blood, Viper had set her at the receptionist's desk as if she were going to be his frigging secretary. Felina was pissed. Officer Pawsworth was also in the same situation, full cognizant despite the slug on his neck. The two of them were tied back to back.  


The lieutenant and the scientist exchanged dark looks. Viper tried not to let this small setback bother him, but it did. Having incurred such an egregious oversight as this really got under his skin. Two out of the hundreds of Enforcers under his control were immune to the effects of his mind-controlling slugs. Still not a bad ratio, but Viper always aimed for perfection.  


"Yes, I have one more impresssive addition to my hive," Viper said as his superior smirk returned.

T-Bone stood straight and proud at his side, and to the other side of the SWAT Kat, the blank faced deputy mayor. Though T-Bone looked more like Callie's silent sentinel, keeping himself between her and the scientist, than Viper's minion.  
Viper turned to the collection of blank officers waiting for orders. "All of you, there is another Sswat Kat still in the building. Find him. Use deadly force if you have to."  


Without a sound, the officers turned to begin systematically searching each level.  


That filled Felina with hope. At least Razor was still free. Practically every single Enforcer was now under Viper's command. There was no one left to stop him from taking over the city at his leisure.  


With his soldiers dispatched, Viper turned his attention back to Felina."You'll have wissshed you sssubmitted to my ssslugs like the ressst of them, Lieutenant. Your life may be far more difficult as one of my tessst sssubjects inssstead."  


"Do your worst, Viper!" she snapped back, flashing her fangs. "I'm not scared of you. And definitely not scared of your pathetic bugs and plants."  


One of the green vines had begun to wrap around the receptionist desk near her foot. Felina stamped her boot on the grotesque thing to prove her point. A deep moan came from somewhere, deep underneath the floor. The sound made all of Felina's fur stand on end. A small tremor shook the foundation before all activity subsided with a pained sigh.  


"Careful lieutenant," Viper hissed knowingly at Felina's wide eyed expression. "You don't want to irritate him."  


" _Him_?" she demanded.  


Viper ignored the question, turning to Felina's personal guard. Commander Feral himself had been keeping watch over her. A way for Viper to gloat when he wasn't even in the room. "Enjoy thiss ssmall comfort while you can, Lieutenant. I sssuggest making peace with your uncle inssstead of trying to reach him. You're just waissting your time."  


Felina frowned. She had been attempting to wake her uncle somehow, talking to him, trying to snap him out of his stupor whenever Viper wasn't around. Apparently, the snake was still aware of what she was doing.  


"I wouldn't be so sure my uncle can't break that stupid thing," Felina said with a smirk. "Look how shoddy mine is working. Your slugs are pathetic."  


Viper snarled as he suddenly whirled around, tail connecting solidly against the two bound Enforcers. It was enough to send them flying sideways to the floor with pained grunts. Even the ineffectual slugs around their bodies squealed as they hit the floor. At least Felina's arm wasn't the only thing in pain.  


"You may ssstay down there for a while, Lieutenant, and think about how much the oddsss are againssst you."  


"Yeah, thanks, Lieutenant," Officer Pawsworth grouched at her back. How was it that he was getting beaten up, too, when he was the one keeping his mouth shut?  


Felina growled to herself. Movement above her head caught her attention. The next floor up, a pretty blonde face was peering over the glass rail at her. If Felina hadn't been laying on her side she never would have noticed.  


Black Kat pointed to Felina and then to herself in silent words. "You, me." She formed her paws into the shape of a heart, "Best friends," she mouthed.  
Officer Pawsworth saw it, too. "Really, Lieutenant?" he asked with a smirk.  


"Shut up, Pawsworth," she hissed.  


The blonde head of hair disappeared and a few moments later, the two guards posted at the front of the building collapsed.

Viper heard the bodies crumble to the floor and immediately went to investigate. Any other experiment, he probably would have considered this to be the work of his enemies. However, he was already overly paranoid of his creatures' abilities after his failure with the Lieutenant. Perhaps his slugs were sucking too much blood from their hosts. They were becoming weak. That would not do, he would need to check them.  


When Viper's attention was turned, Black Kat silently rappelled from the second floor down to the first, ducking behind a giant potted fern. She snuck behind the statue-still form of Commander Feral, whipping out a blade and slicing the head off the slug at his neck. The commander's shoulders instantly relaxed, weakened, as his eyes regained color.  


"Uncle," Felina whispered, trying to bring him to the present as quickly as possible.  


Feral blinked and then clutched his head as his senses began to return to him.  


Black Kat moved, blade in paw, to cut the lieutenant free. Then she froze, eyes wide.  


"Yikes!" she squeaked, turning around.  


She hastily shoved the handle of the knife into Feral's confused paw before scrambling over the desk. The she kat sprinted across the lobby as a blur of blue g-suit and yellow fur tore after her.  


Viper was rising from the fallen Enforcers, holding a dart hardly larger than a toothpick in his claws. He was already growling about someone meddling in his plans when two forms collided with the glass wall. Translucent shards exploded like deadly confetti as Black Kat was tackled. She and T-Bone were sent flying out onto the front steps in a shower of glass.  


Black Kat felt the sharp edges tear her suit and bite into her back as she slid along the concrete. The hulking, heavy form of T-Bone was crouched on top of her, feeling like his weight would break her ribs. He socked the she kat in the face. Her brain rattled from the force and her world spun.  


"All Enforcers, get that intruder!" Viper squawked in his raspy voice.  


Any remaining officers in the lobby moved to follow their master's command.  


"Uncle," Felina whispered through all the confusion. "Hurry, down here."  


The urgency in his niece's voice finally brought Feral out of his stupor and his body moved to her aid. He had a knife in his paw; he couldn't recall where it came from. Kneeling, he began to saw at the ropes holding his two officers.  


"Felina, what's going on?" he whispered.  


Before she could respond, the air vent on the floor near her head was kicked open and a dusty Razor crawled out. "This place has gone insane," he coughed. "There are armed Enforcers on every floor."  


"And Viper's got even more of them stationed all over the city," Felina said in a serious tone. The second her arms were free she ripped the slug from her neck herself before yanking off Pawsworth's. "My best guess was that he was waiting to capture the two of you before marching down to the Mayor's house and then proclaiming martial law on the whole city."  


"Even if he didn't have the mayor, it wouldn't matter," Pawsworth added as his ropes were cut. He rubbed the bleeding spot on the back of his neck as the dead slug fell off. "Viper has the Enforcers, he has all the power he needs."  


The SWAT Kat narrowed his eyes. "Well we'll just have to--"  


"Razor!" Felina cut him off in warning.  


The vigilante glanced behind to see Callie's thin form standing over him, a trash can poised above her head. Razor jumped to his feet the same time Felina did. They knocked her weapon away and Razor winced as Felina shoved Callie face first into the wall.  


"Sorry Deputy Mayor," the lieutenant said without remorse in her tone, "this is for your own good." She dug through that thick head of hair for the slug. Grabbing the thing by the neck, she yanked it until she had ripped the head free from the body. Both lieutenant and Callie's back were sprayed with green ichor and Felina hardly flinched.  


Callie immediately stopped struggling and her legs went weak. Felina handled the Deputy Mayor more gently then, letting Callie settle down on the floor, her legs tucked under her.  


"How do you feel, Deputy Mayor?" she asked.  


"Like I'm going to throw up," Callie said weakly. She could feel that withered slug body wrapped around her under her clothes. It just made her want to slither right out of her own skin.  


"It will be okay, Ms. Briggs," Razor said with a concerned paw on her arm. "You're safe now."  


Callie placed her paw on his with a grateful smile. Having him there made her feel better.  


"It's your partner you should worry about," Felina told the SWAT Kat. "He's still under Viper's control and he just threw our visiting masked she kat through that glass window."  


"Crud," Razor hissed under his breath as he was on his feet and racing across the lobby.  


Dr. Viper saw him coming and bared his fangs. "Sssswat Kat, so you think--"  


A bola from Razor's Glovatrix wrapped around the scientist and he fell face first on the floor.  


"I don't have time for you, freak show," Razor said as he leapt out the broken window.  


Viper then regretted his previous order to send all available Enforcers outside. He was roughly grabbed by the collar and raised to meet a pair of dark eyes.  


"Lucky for you, Viper," Felina smirked, I've got all the time in the world."

* * *

 

Another fist collided with her face and Black Kat fought to stay conscious. She would never win against T-Bone in a contest of strength, she had to play smart. Raising a paw to protect herself, the other reached out for a large shard of glass. She slashed it across T-Bone's chest, cutting into the squirming organism wrapped around him. The slice went deep, bone and sinew exposed from the wound. There was a pained scream from the creature and T-Bone paused momentarily in his attack.  


With all her strength, Black Kat doubled her fists together and hit T-Bone on the side of the head. The big tom kat fell over. Black Kat kicked her way out from under him and jumped to her feet, panting and trying to get her vision to clear. Though wounded, the slug wasn't dead and T-Bone still advancing on her with a dead gaze.  


The sounds of gunfire echoed through the night air as bullets tore up the cement around Black Kat's feet. Five armed Enforcers spilled out of the building, opening fire when they saw her.  


"Great, just what I need," she growled.  


The she kat dashed this way and that, trying to make herself a more difficult target. By now, the slimy, green vines had spread to the outside, choking the building and decorating the front steps. A few stray bullets tore into the tendrils and the very foundation shuttered again.  
Black Kat was too engaged with the immediate threat to notice. She threw smoke bombs, swallowing the Enforcers in a cloud of gray.  


"One problem at a time!"  


And she still had a big problem. T-Bone fired on her as well, causing the she kat to unleash an impressive display of flips to avoid being plastered with cement. Tired and wounded, Black Kat knew she couldn't keep this up for long. Another missile landed at her feet and she failed to notice this one wasn't cement until it exploded in her face. Her body was thrown backwards, down the unforgiving concrete stairs.  


Above, there was confusion for the Enforcers. First, blinded by the smoke, and then a spitfire of a SWAT Kat cut through them. The smoke didn't slow Razor down in the least. He took out each of the brainwashed Enforcers with ease, rendering them unconscious. Then he continued to surge forward out of the dissipating smoke, a kat with a mission. All around him, the previously inert vines had now come alive, waving with a life all their own, tendrils now agitated and sightlessly feeling around their surroundings.  


T-Bone was descending the stairs, stalking toward the dazed she kat. Her limbs were spread askew as she tried to find her senses. She gazed stupidly at the night sky until the broad form of T-Bone blocked it out. He aimed his Glovatrix and Black Kat tried to make her abused body move. If she didn't get up, he was going to kill her right there.  


T-Bone fired and the shot went wild as a smaller form gave him a flying kick with a sharp "Hi-ya!"  


T-Bone stumbled back, but Razor was already pouncing on him again, landing on his partner's back, claws sunk in.  


"Sorry, buddy, it's for you're own good."  


The larger SWAT Kat tried to shake him off, but Razor held tight until he was able to rip the slug from his partner's back. He yanked so hard and quick, the mouth was still attached to the skin, but the body was no longer affixed with the head. Razor kicked off T-Bone's back, making him stumble head first into the bushes. He wanted to give his partner a little space in case it took a while for T-Bone to come back to his senses.  
Razor moved to Black Kat's side as she attempted to sit up. She looked fine, but it was clear by the way she moved that she was injured and a little punch drunk.  


"Sorry I'm late," Razor said gently as he helped her sit up. "How bad is it?"  


"Better late than never." She winced in pain as she moved, but still managed a smile. "Still a hero to me."  


She stiffly tried to reach behind her as if there were something on her back. Razor looked. He didn't see anything, but he could feel it. Carefully, he pulled out a shard of glass, now tinted red. There was no wound he could see, but Razor's paw was now covered in blood.  


"What...?" he asked in confusion.  


Black Kat fished a tube of ointment from her pocket. "Put this on there, it's a medical glue. It will seal all the cuts."  


Razor stared blankly at the completely whole body he saw. "Where do I...?"  


"Just put it everywhere."  


He did as he was told, blindly smearing cream over invisible wounds and trying to figure out why he couldn't see them.  


T-Bone stumbled up to them, looking a little unsure on his feet. "Hey um, I didn't... do anything too bad... did I?" He looked at Black Kat regretfully. "I'm sorry, I had no control over it. I don't even remember..."  


"It's fine," Black Kat insisted, forcing herself to her feet. She clenched her jaw, swallowing the pain and putting on a stern exterior. "Still in one piece. I'm not done yet tonight. Your city's Enforcers are still under Viper's control and I still need to find Bombay."  
_BOMBAY......_  


The name was whispered low and deep. It sounded from everywhere, as if it had not come from vocal cords, but from an ubiquitous entity. The ground rumbled beneath the vigilantes and the walkway before Enforcer Headquarters crumbled and split in two. Razor grabbed Black Kat to steady her as the cement slab they were standing on shifted violently. Massive, thorny tentacles breached the surface, coiling around trees and street lights, whatever they happened to touch.  


T-Bone was on the other side of the divide, staring at the spectacle with wide eyes. "Razor, what did that psycho Viper do?" he demanded.  


"Beats me," his partner called back. "I thought the mind control slugs were as worse as it was going to get this time."  


"We shouldn't be surprised," T-Bone grouched, even as he tried to keep his balance on the shuttering sidewalk. "With Viper there's always something else."  


One of the vines snuck out of the fresh chasm unnoticed, until it wrapped around Black Kat's boot. She gave a startled cry as she was suddenly yanked off her feet. She clawed at the sidewalk as the tentacle pulled her down toward the darkness.  


"I've got you!" Razor called as he slid on his stomach to grab her wrists. But his strength wasn't enough. They were both yanked effortlessly into the pit.  


"Razor!" T-Bone cried. He jumped in after his partner without a second thought.

* * *

 

Commander Feral knew they couldn't stay at HQ. There were Enforcers stationed on every floor, armed and brainwashed. Three Enforcers and a deputy mayor would not stand a chance. Dragging the now captive Viper with them, they ran to the garage and grabbed a cruiser, racing away from the Enforcer building like their tails were on fire.  


Callie squirmed in the back seat, trying to remove the last of the dead slug from her clothes. Every piece she pried off was thrown on the floor and kicked under the seat in front of her. She still felt violated, her face sallow as if motion sick.  


"Eyes front, Pawsworth," Felina ordered from where she sat next to Callie. Her slug had been on the outside of her clothing and had sloughed off when it died.  


Pawsworth had happened to glance back at the two she kats while Callie was digging around in her blouse. He immediately flushed and turned his eyes forward to the street. Next to him, Commander Feral was driving, racing with lights and siren blaring.  


Dr. Viper was not with them. None of the kats present trusted him in the cab. The scientist had been tied and cuffed, and tossed in the trunk. There wasn't any other choice. They had nowhere else to put him. Felina noticed with pride that her uncle seemed to be purposefully hitting every pothole he could find along the way.  


"Where exactly are we going, Commander?" Pawsworth asked.  


"To Megakat Biochemical. Ever since those first slugs appeared, I've have their top scientists preparing for anything Viper had planned. Hopefully they have something developed that will help us deal with this infestation on a wide scale."  


Pawsworth glanced behind him again and his eyes bugged out. "Holy kats!"  


"I told you, Pawsworth, eyes front!"  


"No, Lieutenant, the Enforcer building! Look!"  


The two she kats glanced back to see the towering monument of justice engulfed in writhing, green tentacles.  


"Viper!" Felina practically screamed as she pounded on the back of her seat. "You're lucky you're in that trunk right now, you hear me?!"  


Commander Feral glowered silently at his poor headquarters through the rear view mirror. All he did was press his foot harder on the gas.

 

 


	6. Altered

**Masks**

**Chapter Six: Altered**

 

They were dragged down into the darkness, through the many sewer tunnels that roved through Megakat City. Razor stubbornly held into the she kat as they were both yanked under. Refusing to let go of her, he gritted his teeth and used all his strength to haul her up next to him. With a blade from his Gloveatrix, he sliced at the vine wound around Black Kat's boot. With a squeal of pain, the severed limb retreated into the darkness.  
  
Black Kat found herself in the SWAT Kat's arms, the tom panting under her as they both took a moment to enjoy the fact they were no longer being sucked down into the monster's lair. She listened to Razor's quickened heartbeat as they lay together in the silence. Then she raised her head and they were nearly nose touching nose.  
  
"Thanks for coming after me. I'm starting to see the advantages of having a partner."  
  
Razor plopped his head on the ground, his breathing slowly going back to normal. "I doubt T-Bone would like it if I took applications for a replacement."  
  
"You two make a good team. I wouldn't dream of wanting to break that up," she approved with humor in her voice. She tried not to wince as she lifted herself off the SWAT Kat.  
  
"You're hurt," Razor said.  
  
Black Kat sat back stiffly on her heels. "An irritating discomfort, but I can put up with it for now."  
  
Razor frowned and grabbed her chin, pulling the she kat's face close to his. It was difficult to make out her features in the darkness of the tunnel, but he stared at her as if her eyes told him all the answers. He knew she was hurt and, despite how undamaged she looked, he knew her wounds were worse than she let on. What he couldn't figure out was how she was hiding it. There was some piece of the puzzle that just didn't fit.  
  
Black Kat just smiled at his intense gaze and leaned in to give him a quick peck on the nose. Razor's hand dropped in surprise and she took that opportunity to move away from him.  
  
"Razor!" T-Bone's voice echoed somewhere in the distance. "Buddy! Can you hear me?"  
  
"We're down here!" Razor called as he got to his feet.  
  
Moments later, a light appeared up the tunnel before T-Bone appeared, panting lightly with a flashlight in his paw. "Hey, everyone okay?" He scraped his light over the the two of them and continued on to peer down the tunnel where the tentacle had gone. No sign of it.  
  
"More or less," Black Kat shrugged while Razor eyed her with a calculating gaze. She ignored it and pulled out her own flashlight, stepping further down the tunnel.  
  
"And where are you going?" T-Bone asked before Razor could.  
  
"I'm going after that thing, of course. I need to find out what we're dealing with here."

"You're sticking with me," Razor said with an authoritative tone, taking her paw in his. "I'm keeping an eye on you."  
  
Paws held, he pulled her into the tunnel. Black Kat gave T-Bone a whimsical look, as if his actions amused her, before she was led off into the darkness. Smirking, the larger SWAT Kat followed them.  
  
They trekked silently further down the sewer tunnels, lights investigating every corner, footsteps silent. While there was currently no sign of danger, the trio couldn't help but feel they were in the lair of something beastly. The peril in the air around them made their whiskers twitch and fur stand on end. Something was near by, something unnatural.  
  
Green vines grew all around, chocking the tunnels the further they went. Some clung to the walls without motion like a plant, others twitched and throbbed as if it were alive.  
  
"What is this thing? Plant or animal?" T-Bone muttered to himself.  
  
The tunnel opened up ahead. Razor slowly approached the entrance and looked down.  
  
"Woah," was all the SWAT Kat could say.  
  
Their path dropped into an open chasm where several runoff pipes all converged in a single drainage system. In the midst of it all was a gargantuan mass of writhing tendrils, like that of a thousand snakes all coiled together. Reptilian vines snaked all over the walls, stretching out and upward as if intent on swallowing everything around it.  
  
"Woah, indeed," Black Kat agreed as she peered over Razor's shoulder.  
  
T-Bone took his turn to get an eyeful of the monstrosity. "Crud. Can't exactly get the Turbokat down here to fight that thing... whatever it is."  
  
Razor frowned as he began to hatch different plots in his head.  
  
"We may have to triage this," Black Kat said as she leaned out, her flashlight flickering over the nightmare below. "As bad as that looks down there, it's not the most immediate threat to the city. All those zombified enforcers are what we need to take care of right now."  
  
"Copy that," T-Bone said, taking another long look a the scene that would probably plague his nightmares for a while. "We need to regroup and come back with the right tools for taking on this thing anyway."  
  
Black Kat sighed a little under her breath. "And still no closer to finding Vincent Bombay."  
  
From amidst the writhing ball in the darkness, two massive, glowing eyes snapped open. All three kats jumped as that gaze stared right at them. Every living tendril around them froze. Then a deep growl reverberated all around them before all the vines came to life and everything exploded into chaos.

* * *

  
  
At Megakat biochemical, Lieutenant Felina Feral paced the floor with barely controlled patience. She didn't like all this science stuff. All the chemicals and calculations were not her thing. This was not how she took care of business. If she couldn't handle the problem with her fists or her gun, she felt very much out of her element.  
  
Officer Pawsworth stood with her, looking just as uncomfortable. He didn't seem to have a head for this stuff either. Meanwhile, Felina's Uncle was nodding along with everything those science eggheads were saying. Even the Deputy Mayor seemed to somewhat get what was going on. All Felina was waiting for was the bottom line. How could she beat those slugs and get her officers back on their side?  
  
"As you requested Commander, with the samples we've recovered from the last incident, we've been exploring all sorts of avenues to combat Viper's newest creations," Dr. Konway said as if he were giving a practiced presentation. Ever since he had discovered the correct mixture of anti-mutagens when Viper had flooded the city, he had been directly on the Enforcer's payroll and considered the leading expert when it came to negating anything the mad scientist could throw out.  
  
"At first, we tried the antifreeze approach. It did indeed kill the parasites, but it could also harm the host body. I doubt that is what you would want."  
  
"Not to mention that will take forever," Felina cut in. "We can't go around trying to take on one officer at a time. We've got an entirely infested city out there. We need something that will neutralize these things en masse."  
  
"Ah, so I didn't completely bore you to death with my science talk, Lieutenant," Konway said with a knowing wink. "And you are right, it would be a lengthy process. We were exploring other possibilities in case there was a full citywide epidemic on our hands, as you ordered Commander."  
  
"I'm impressed at the preparation," Callie said to Commander Feral.  
  
"Unlike some, I'm not prepared to wait around for the SWAT Kats, in hopes they have some miraculous weapon that will save us," Feral shot back.  
  
Callie frowned at him, though she knew this was not the time to start an argument.  
  
"Through some of our experiments, we discovered that certain high pitched sounds also irritate the creatures enough that they will let go of their hosts," Dr. Konway continued. "Long term exposure to the sound will cause them to abandon the body completely in order to get away from it."  
  
He produced a small device from his pocket and hit the red button. Every kat in the room instantly cringed at the high, grating sound. "It's not a pleasant noise to our sensitive hearing either, but the important thing is that it won't cause any permanent damage to the host."

“Really? A sound?” Pawsworth wondered. “Do those things even have ears?”  
  
“It's not really the sound itself, but the vibration of the tone,” Konway clarified. “Without eyes or ears, they use their skin to navigate the world around them. It's how they sense the body heat of their hosts. Apparently, certain sound vibrations overload their senses and cause them a great amount of pain.”  
  
Commander Feral was rubbing his chin, trying to figure out the most practical application for their newest weapon.  
  
"Does that noise repel slugs even if used over a radio?" Felina asked.  
  
"I'm not really sure," Konway admitted. "We never experimented with it before--"  
  
Felina snatched the device from his paw. "Time to experiment now." She pulled the radio from her belt. "Attention all Enforcers,” she said in a soft voice, one that would cause those listening to turn up their radios in order to hear her. “We have Dr. Viper in custody. If you wish to know where he is, pay close attention to the following message." She let the radio fall silent for a moment and all kats in the room covered their ears. Then she pushed the button and let that horrible noise blare over the radio for nearly three minutes.  
  
Felina shook her head after she allowed silence to fill the room again. Now there was an annoying ringing in her ears.  
  
"How do you know if it worked?" Callie asked softly.  
  
"For the hours I was sitting as Viper's hostage, I never heard one peep out of a single kat that was under Viper's control. Not even my Uncle, and you know how he likes to talk," Felina threw him a playful smirk while Feral gave her a barely tolerant look. "I don't believe the host kats are capable of speaking when under the slug's control. Any response we get will be a good response."  
  
She held the radio to her mouth once more. "This is Lieutenant Felina Feral. I need all available units- every uncompromised officer needs to sound off on the radio now."  
  
Everyone waited, breaths held as they listened to the static of the radio.  
  
She tried again. "This is Lieutenant Feral. If you are near a radio, announce yourself right now, that's an order!"  
  
More static.  
  
Felina growled, clutching the radio in her hand. It was worth a shot.  
  
"This is... Officer Crowley," came a hesitant voice. "I'm not entirely sure of my location, but you're minus one slug over here, Lieutenant."  
  
Felina and officer Pawsworth grinned at each other. One more officer was better than one.  
  
"This is Officer Furson, reporting in," came another voice.  
  
"This is Officer Kittish, over."  
  
"Katson reporting in."  
  
"Officer Smith, reporting."  
  
And so on with several other voices responding on the line. Feral estimated a little over a dozen or so officers now on his side.  
  
"It's a start," Felina said.  
  
"Emergency, all units!" a frantic voice called over the radio. "Enforcer HQ is under attack! Officers are still in the building! It-- it's being swallowed by some sort of--" A scream cut off the report and then the line went dead.  
  
Dr. Konway immediately turned on a small TV in the corner. Anne Gora appeared on the screen, her hair blowing in disarray as she reported inside the Cat's Eye News chopper.  
  
"--the ground splitting in front of the Enforcer building," Anne was saying in the middle of her report. Her voice wasn't quite so focused and calm as it usually was.  
"Something's coming out. It-- it's huge! I don't even know how to describe it!"  
  
The camera relayed what words could not. A countless mass of writhing tentacles was prying the very ground apart and squeezing out into the open air. Dawn sunlight streamed through the skyline to illuminate the horrible scene. The mass clung to the side of the enforcer building, stretching out to cover and swallow it all.  
  
"Perhaps the most heart-stopping scene of it all is the fact that there isn't a single Enforcer helicopter in the sky,” Anne's voice said. “Commander Feral has been missing in action for at least ten hours and there is no word yet from anyone. Not even the mayor's office could be reached for comment."  
  
"Of course the mayor made himself scarce," Callie mumbled.  
  
"We've got to get down there!" Felina barked. "We've got to do something!"  
  
"What can we do Lieutenant?" Pawsworth asked. "We have a few patrol calls we could call to the scene, but all our vehicles, our ammo, our _choppers_ are at HQ."  
  
Callie immediately flipped open her cell phone.  
  
"Calling the SWAT Kats in, I assume," Feral accused.  
  
"Despite what you believe, Commander, I don't have them on speed dial," she retorted. Her secret communicator to the vigilantes had been left at her office. But as luck would have it, she had her cell phone in her pocket. "I do, however, have Anne Gora's number."  
  
"And what good would that do us?" the Commander demanded.  
  
Callie stabbed a finger at the TV screen. "Unlike you, _she_ has a helicopter!"  
  
"If we could get a few more of these things and some megaphones, we could start getting more of our guys on our side," Felina said, still holding the sound device.

Upon request, one of the other lab assistants produced a few more of he devices.  
  
"What about that monster?" Pawsworth asked. "I don't think a little loud noise is going to bother something like that."  
  
"If I had a sample, I could begin working on some sort of anti-mutagen to tear down the creature's molecular construction," Konway offered. "Without samples, all I could do is guesswork based on the previous mutations that have been brought in lately."  
  
"Great, you and Uncle work on that," Felina called as she headed for the door with her collection of sound devices. "Pawsworth and I are going to scramble every officer we can to meet you at HQ."  
  
She didn't even wait for approval before running out the door, the lower ranking officer at her heels. They returned to the parking lot and the awaiting police cruiser only to find the trunk mangled and popped open. Viper had escaped.  
  
"Crud, that slippery snake is gone again," Felina hissed with a punch to the car. "Next time I see him, I'm going to ring his neck."  
  
"Later Lieutenant," Pawsworth said, reaching in for the vehicle's radio. "We've got to call everyone in."  
  
Felina suddenly remembered the small communication device she had in her pocket. The Black Kat had given it to her the previous morning. Had it really been less than 24 hours ago? It seemed like so much time had passed since then. Felina had meant to show it to her uncle, but had never been able to get around to it in all the craziness.  
  
"Pawsworth, you get on the radio. I'm going to try and make another call."

* * *

  


There was an annoying beeping in her head. It rang through her ears and annoyed her into consciousness. Groaning, Black Kat blearily opened her eyes. The first thing she was aware of was a chilly breeze in her face, then she saw the bright red and orange of a sunrise splayed out in front of her in a spectacular view.  
  
What was she doing out there? Her last recollection was being underground in the dark. How did she make it back to the surface? Then she saw she wasn't exactly on the surface, but higher than most other rooftops. With a gasp, she found her body wrapped up in several vines, suspended several stories above the ground, plastered against the side of the Enforcer building.  
  
That insistent beeping was still going off in her ears. As she gathered her wits about her, Black Kat managed to press the flickering light on her wrist.  
  
"Lieutenant, I didn't think you cared," she managed to put lightness into her tone.  
  
"I don't," came Felina's flat response. "But I will accept your assistance if you're willing to help. We've discovered a sound frequency that irritates the parasites enough to cause them to abandon their hosts."  
  
"Wow, I wonder what sort of sound that could be," the masked kat said before she realized her mistake.  
  
Felina's response was to immediately flood the line with a horrible noise. It was ten times worse than nails on a chalkboard and raked through Black Kat's senses down to her bones.  
  
"Ow!" she complained, trying to rub her ear on her shoulder. Even with the wind, it was a painful experience.  
  
"It's the best we have at the moment," Felina then said. "We're going to be rocking it through all enforcer frequencies. Anything you can do to help--"  
  
"I'm afraid extra assistance may be more than you can hope for, Lieutenant. To put it plainly, I'm a little trapped right now. But I have the sound recorded so I'll use it if I can get out of here."  
  
"So where are you then?"  
  
"Still where you left me, ground zero at Enforcer HQ. Thanks for that, by the way. I thought we were friends."  
  
Felina ignored the extra comments. "Can you give me a report of the situation? Anything we can use?"  
  
Black Kat shook her head, trying to get her thoughts in order. Her vision still blurred now and then. One too many hits to the head was really making this a difficult conversation.  
  
"Well, you've got some sort of... massive squid thing choking the life out of your building. It may just tear your base apart. I'm afraid when it comes to my own repertoire, I am ill prepared to handle something of this size."  
  
"What about the SWAT Kats. Are they still on the scene?"  
  
Black Kat tried to remember what happened to all of them, but she was pulling a blank. She must have blacked out right away down there. "I wish I knew, but I have no idea--"  
  
The whoosh of a jet engine screamed by the building, making whatever glass windows were still intact to shutter.  
  
"Oh never mind, they're on site."  
  
"Don't let them attack the building! There's still officers inside!"  
  
"Believe me, Lieutenant, the last thing I want them to do is shoot at the building."

* * *

  


T-Bone steered the Turbokat around the Enforcer building to get a full look as to what they were dealing with. As he took in the full calamity of the situation, he wondered how things had gotten so bad in so little time.  
  
Both he and Razor had been lucky. When the creature had suddenly surged forward, they immediately lost site of Black Kat as everything around them was ripped up. However, as the creature breached the surface, the team of pilots managed to make it topside as well. To their jet they raced, regrettably, without any sign of their previous companion. The only consolation for the situation was now they had their heavy artillery at their fingers and the monster was now exposed for a full assault.  
  
"You know, Razor, it's actually kind of weird not having Enforcer choppers get in the way this time," T-Bone commented as he looked at the sky. Empty of back up choppers for miles in every direction. "Don't tell Feral I said this, but they were always like our safety net, weren't they? If we screwed up, at least we knew we weren't the last ones fighting."  
  
Razor stayed silent, eagle eyes scanning the area. T-Bone knew his partner was worried about Black Kat. He was, too. Neither his masculine pride nor his heroic sensibilities would allow him to forgive himself if that she kat had been seriously hurt or worse, when she had been standing mere feet away from them.  
  
"There she is!" T-Bone barked in triumph when he spotted the masked she kat. "Down there, Razor, against the side of the building."  
  
Razor nearly conked his head on the side of the cockpit to see. Black Kat was trapped high up the building, pinned in place by several vines. Her eyes were wincing against the harsh wind, so at least she was conscious.  
  
"I'm getting her out of there, then ugly is open for a free for all on anything the Turbokat's got."  
  
"Roger that," T-Bone acknowledged, opening the cockpit as the jet hovered near Black Kat's bound form.  
  
Razor stood and fired a grappling hook, swinging down to her. "Hold on, I'm going to get you out of here and then it's open season on this thing."  
  
"You can't fire on the building," Black Kat said. "There's still Enforcers inside. They wouldn't have had the sense to evacuate with those slugs still controlling them."  
"Crud, you're right," Razor hissed. "Just can't catch a break this time."  
  
"If we can get in the building, I may have an idea."  
  
"Did you hear that, buddy?" Razor asked over the radio.  
  
"Copy that, I'll stand by out here. Keep in touch, Razor."  
  
"Roger." Razor placed a small device on the window next to them. Then he used his body to shield Black Kat as the glass exploded. That was their way into the building. With claws gripping to the vines, he activated his buzz saw blade.  
  
His first cuts into the vines holding the female vigilante caused a high squeal to echo in the air. The building moaned and shook as the main part of the wriggling mass shifted.  
  
"Razor!" Black Kat urged as she saw the thing moving toward them.  
  
Razor cut faster.  
  
The mass surged toward them and Black Kat was horrified to see malformed features appear amidst the throbbing substance. Those same glowing eyes and a crooked mouth.  
  
"You...." the thing growled, staring right at her.  
  
There was a very familiar scar that ran from the eye down to the cheek of the malformed face.  
  
Black Kat gasped in disbelief. She knew that scar well. "Vinnie Bombay." Her entire body froze at the horror that was hovering before her. Something unspeakable had happened to this kat. And now the monster he had become had nothing but hatred and death in mind for her.  
  
" _Your fault..._ " the deep voice hissed and moaned. Jaws surged forward.  
  
Razor sliced at the last of the vines and she was free. He pulled them both through the broken window as the thing lunged. The two cats rolled along the floor as green tendrils surged in after them. Razor practically dragged his female companion toward the stairs. Vines raced around the circumference of the room, trying to beat him to the door.  
  
The kats threw themselves into the stairwell, but Razor didn't stop there. Grabbing Black Kat, he jumped over the railing, plummeting several floors before his grappling hook caught on one of the above rails. Mere feet before hitting the bottom floor, the rope went taunt, sliding them both on the ground, out the door and into the lobby. The vines were still a few floors above them, but the building was moaning and falling apart at the invasion.  
  
Razor instantly recovered, up and ready for more action. Black Kat was slower to respond. She winced as she tried to get her limbs to respond and get herself to her feet again. The floor where she had been laying was smudged in red.  
  
"You're still bleeding," Razor said.  
  
"It's not that much," she insisted. "I'll take care of it later."  
  
Razor's emotions were fighting for dominance. He was irritated she kept trying to brush off his concern when it was obvious she was not okay. He was also afraid because he could not see how badly she was hurt. He was still trying to figure out how that was possible. With all they had been through that night, he was scraped, suit torn and nearly black with sewer muck. Black Kat still looked shiny and new. No filth on her suit, not a mark on her perfect face. And yet, she was bleeding on the floor. What was going on?  
  
"No, you're hurt," Razor insisted. "I need to get you out of here. Maybe to a hospital."  
  
"It can wait until we get everyone else out first," she insisted as she got to her feet. She forced herself over to the reception desk where, not too long ago, Felina had been tied up as Viper's captive. The phone/intercom was discarded on the floor and Black Kat replaced it on the desk and opened the PA system to every floor of the building.

Glancing at Razor, she warned "You may want to cover your ears, this isn't a pleasant sound."  
  
Razor raised his paws to obey, then changed his mind. He stepped behind the she kat and covered her ears instead. "Okay, do it."  
  
She gave him an affectionate look and then moved her wrist communicator in front of the speaker. With the push of a button, she replayed the same sound Felina sent her over every floor of the building. Razor winced at the horrible, grating sound as it tore through the speakers. Even the monster on top seemed irritated with the strident.  
  
Black Kat let it play for about a minute before getting on the speaker herself. "Attention all Enforcers, evacuate the building immediately. Take anyone you can with you, get everyone out. Evacuate the building now. This is an emergency."  
  
She let the harsh sound replay over the speaker once more. Even as she was repeating the message again, startled and confused Enforcers were fleeing their headquarters. Some officers were nearly carried out, sporting nasty, bleeding wounds on the backs of their necks where slugs were ripped out by comrades.  
A big chunk of the ceiling fell in the lobby and Razor decided it was the best they could do. He picked up Black Kat without warning and carried her out of the trembling building. Only a few steps outside and he already heard the familiar whoosh of the Turbokat's engines.  
  
T-Bone landed momentarily, opening the belly of the jet. Razor carried the she kat inside and gently set her down as the Turbokat took into the air again.  
"You need to stay here and rest," he told her, gentle but firm.  
  
"But--" Black Kat protested.  
  
"You've done all you can," Razor insisted. "We'll finish the rest."  
  
"Razor, get back up here," T-Bone called. "Something's going on."  
  
"Stay there," Razor ordered of the she kat one more time before climbing back up into the cockpit.  
  
He was able to see through the glass just in time to see the Kats Eye News copter enter the creature's range.  
  
"What are they doing?” T-Bone dempanded. “They're getting way too close."  
  
The side door of the chopper slid open and familiar broad shoulders poked out.  
  
"Feral!" they both cried in surprise.  
  
The helicopter flew fearlessly over the beast and Feral pushed out a large crate. It landed on the rooftop of the Enforcer building amidst the clump of plantlike mass. The creature didn't like presents dropped on it at all and immediately reached up for the chopper. Feral and the pilot abandoned the vehicle as it was snatched out of the air. The SWAT Kats watched as two parachutes deployed and seemed to be headed for safe ground.  
  
"Looks like Feral's yelling at us some more," T-Bone said with a smirk as he watched the commander float toward the ground.  
  
"I think he's actually trying to tell us something," Razor pointed out. Feral was pointing emphatically to the building, yelling something in the SWAT Kats direction. "I think he wants us to shoot that crate he dropped."  
  
"Far be it for us to ignore a direct order." T-Bone maneuvered the jet so they had a clear shot of the object on the roof.  
  
"Probably should use something nonexplosive," Razor commented. "That poor building's seen enough damage for one day."  
  
He decided on a match head missile. More incendiary than explosive, it would at least decimate whatever was in the crate without tearing a chunk out of the building.  
  
The missile hit its target dead on. Immediately after impact, a thick blue smoke swallowed the roof until all visuals of the creature disappeared. There was a pained, defeated cry that filled the air and, as the smoke drifted downward, the vines around the enforcer building began to shrivel up.  
  
But before either SWAT Kat could let out a "Bingo!", their control panels told them the hatch below was being manually opened. Razor instantly slid back his seat so he could peer below.  
  
"Hey!" he called as Black Kat stood over the open hanger door. The smoke covered rooftop waited beneath her. "Where do you think you're going?"  
  
She glanced at him with a rueful smile. "Sorry, I started it. I need to see it finished."  
  
"No! Black Kat! Don't!"  
  
But she had already jumped down into the smoke cloud before Razor could stop her.  
  
"Damnit!" He slammed his fist against the consul.  
  
"Smooth your hackles, bud. She's not going very far," T-Bone said calmly, fully aware of how strange it was to be the collected one of the team this time. "As soon as that smoke clears, we'll land to check things out."

* * *

  


Amidst the smoke, a tortured, malformed figure gasped and writhed on the roof. The blue, chemical mist had withered all his limbs, sucking the moisture and life from his body until he was just a withered, gasping husk. The anti-mutagens had returned Bombay back to his normal size, but his body was beyond recognition, skin dried like a corpse with countless limbs flopping ineffectually from various parts of his body. It was clear he would not survive this condition much longer.  
  
As he fought to pull in oxygen to his desiccated lungs, a figure stepped through the smoke. He narrowed his yellow eyes at her as she drew near. He saw her flawless face, a face he had grown to hate so much. He always dreamed he would see her death, gaping with eyes dull at his feet. This role reversal he never would have fathomed. But this was it. This was the end game. There would be no more cat and mouse between them.  
  
Black Kat just stared down at him, her eyes stern and without sympathy. She made no move to provide aid. "It's over, Vinnie. You're done."  
  
He pulled his face into a hateful scowl. Even though it felt like his skin was tearing every time his muscles moved.  
  
"Why?" he hissed at her. "Why were you so dead set to ruin me? You hunted me for two years. Why did you single me out to destroy my life?"  
  
Black Kat was stoic as she watched him die. Her paws slowly reached up to remove her mask. Even when her face was fully revealed, he still did not recognize her.  
"Because," she said, touching the choker on her neck. She pressed a button and her voice changed. Her full facade melted away; the pristine suit, the flawless face, the blonde hair. They all disappeared and Vinnie Bombay recognized her instantly.  
  
"You..." he whispered. "I can't believe...."  
  
The she kat leaned in to whisper. "You ruined my life first."

The Turbokat landed on the roof, scattering the remaining mist with its engines. The SWAT Kats leapt out, Razor in the lead as he hurried over to Black Kat. He skidded in his steps when he saw her from behind. She did not look the same any more.  
  
Now her suit was tattered and filthy, a thick matting of blood plastered her back. That high pony tail of impossibly thick blonde hair was gone. The she kat turned around, face no longer flawless, but bruised and cut. She had a ginger complexion, once blue eyes now gold.  
  
"Tawny Furfax!" he blurted.  
  
T-Bone had seen the revelation as well and had now pushed his way forward while Razor stayed back and gaped in complete shock.  
  
"You! I thought you were dead," he demanded.  
  
She looked at him tiredly. "I had to stage that car fire. Making everyone think I was dead was the only way I'd be free to hunt him down."  
  
T-Bone's mouth moved up and down, his head swimming with anger and incredulity. "You-- you should have told somebody or-- you can't just do that! What do you think you're doing to the kats that care about you, making them think you're dead like that! All the while, you're out prancing around in the city like it's your personal playground! Do you think about anyone but yourself?"  
  
She narrowed her golden eyes at him. "You don't have any room to judge me, Chance Furlong."  
  
The burly kat balked at the sudden accusation. "How-- how did--?"  
  
"Jeeze, I've known you practically my entire life. Do you think I wouldn't recognize you because I can't see the top half of your face? And that time when you were still flying around with your hearing loss really tipped me off. So you don't really have any place to lecture me about keeping secrets from kats who care about you."  
  
T-Bone deflated a little, realizing he didn't care, he was just relieved she was still alive.  
  
The remnants of Vincent Bombay grabbed on to Tawny's boot, his voice forcing itself out in a weak hiss. "Damn you!" he cursed with his last breath. "How... one little girl..." Then his body gave out with a pained sigh. The dried husk fell lifeless and Vincent Bombay was dead.  
  
Tawny let out a slow breath and gently removed her foot from his grasp. It was over.  
  
"Can I ask why?" T-Bone asked softly beside her. "Why did you think the mask was the only option to you?"  
  
Tawny looked at the black mask still in her paw and then over at T-Bone with a bitter smile. "Do you know that the Bombay family is also linked to one of the largest body trafficking cartels in the world? Women are kidnapped and sold at an alarming rate all over the planet. If Bombay had gotten a hold of me, he wouldn't have killed me like he had with Dad and my brother, my fate would have been much worse.  
  
"I could not afford to wait until he hunted me down. I had to hunt him down first."  
  
T-Bone stood there, mouth slightly open. "I... I don't know what to say. I'm sorry. I wish..."  
  
She patted his arm with a bloodstained glove. "I know." She always did know what he wanted to say when he couldn't find the words.  
  
Glancing behind her, Tawny caught sight of Razor, still keeping his distance. The way he looked at her made her quickly turn away and she suddenly couldn't stand being there any more. She was too exposed as her real self here. Time to hide again.  
  
"Well, it's finished now," she said as she turned back to stare at the corpse and tie her mask in place.

T-Bone watched her as she pressed the button at her throat and her entire appearance instantly changed to that smirking blonde, not a blemish upon her. She shook her head as she thought about how far she had to go to finally see everything to the end.

Her voice took on the different tone of Black Kat as she spoke. "Megakat City, it's one hell of a town."  
  
The whooping of several sirens sounded from below. The SWAT Kats glanced down to see a handful of patrol cars pulling up outside the Enforcer building. Felina stepped out of the first one, barking orders left and right as other officers hustled to do her bidding.  
  
"Looks like the city is back under control of the Ferals," T-Bone said. "We can probably call it a day."  
  
"Yeah," Razor agreed. "Time to go bandage--" He turned around, but Black Kat had disappeared. She was gone and out of his life, maybe for good.  
  
"Crud."

* * *

  


They didn't talk about what happened on the flight home, but both pilots had it heavily on their mind. They landed back at the hanger and T-Bone glanced at his partner as they climbed out. How lucky he was to even have a partner in all this. How terrifying it would be to try to do it all alone. He didn't know if he would even have the guts to do this by himself.  
  
Life at the salvage yard returned to normal, as it always did after their missions. The duo had long since become used to bouncing from a world of danger to the world of the mundane with a flick of the tail. There was still oil to change and lights to repair, engines to tinker with. Life still needed to move forward despite what happened while in their masks.  
  
On Sunday, when the garage was closed to the public, a car drove up outside. Jake and Chance were already out in the yard, digging through the latest deliveries of scrap for anything useful. They both looked up when the car drove in, hoping whomever it was would see the big CLOSED sign on the garage and turn right around. Instead, the car turned off and the owner stepped out. The pilots recognized her instantly.  
  
Chance was at the very top of the scrap pile. He slid down the perilous mountain of metal with a physical prowess that belied his profession. Jake trailed after him as they approached the she kat waiting patiently by her car.  
  
"Chance, Mr. Clawson," Tawny Furfax greeted with her usual professional politeness. "A pleasure to see you again. How are you?"  
  
"We're fine," Chance responded automatically. "How are you?" His tone took a deeper meaning, he wasn't just asking about her day.  
  
Tawny removed her driving shades, her face without a single cut or blemish. She was wearing that choker again. "I'm doing quite well, thank you."  
  
How difficult it would be to be a vigilante she kat. Especially one of her status. It would not go unnoticed if she walked in to work sporting cuts and bruises. Unlike the two mechanics. No one would look twice at a couple of dirty grease monkeys with a few extra scrapes. Jake suddenly realized why Tawny's clothes always covered her from wrist to ankle.  
  
"I just wanted to drop by personally to thank you for your service," the she kat continued as if there were no deep secrets between them. "The contract is considered fulfilled and Mayven has told me she already sent you the first of your pay checks. You should be receiving final payments later this week."  
  
She looked at them expectantly while the two pilots felt disappointed. She wasn't giving them what they had been hoping for.  
  
"Any questions for me?" she pressed.  
  
Chance sighed, this was how she wanted to play it? "So are you going back to Purrson Heights for real this time?"  
  
He was rewarded with a secretive smile. "Yes, for real this time. I need to get back to my job."  
  
He stared at her a while, willing more to come out of the collected she kat. But it was no use, her facade was snapped in place and it would not be broken. She must have had her reasons to continue to be this way and Chance let it slide.  
  
"Have a safe drive," he said gently. "I'm... I'm happy to see you, thanks for stopping by. And if you need anything, just give me a call, okay?"  
  
"I'll do that," she smiled, fishing for her keys. They slipped from her fingers into the dirt. Tawny bent to retrieve them and instantly winced. Her back was obviously still recovering from all the damage it took.  
  
Jake darted in, fetching the keys and handing them to her. For a moment, the two stood toe to toe, looking into each other's eyes.  
  
"Thank you... Mr. Clawson," she said carefully, voice barely more than a whisper. "It was a pleasure to meet you."  
  
Jake scrutinized her face; the way she moved, the way she spoke. How could this be the same she kat that jumped from moving jets and wrestled with mutated monsters? How could she be the same one that batted her baby blues at him and smirked in such a way it made him tingle all the way down to the tip of his tail? It caused him to wonder exactly which version of her was real and which one was the mask.  
  
"You're welcome," was all Jake's stupid, stupid brain could think to say to her.  
  
Tawny tore her gaze away and turned to go. Then she paused as a thought hit her and she returned to Jake again, a card in her paw.  
  
"By the way, Mr. Clawson, if you are ever in Purrson Heights, do drop by the facility. We've got all sorts of toys I'm sure you will be most interested in. I would be happy to give both of you a tour any time."  
  
The invitation was for both of them, but the card was extended to Jake only. He stared at it for what seemed like a good several minutes. Tawny remained still, her face passive, but he saw her throat swallow. When he felt he had tortured her long enough, he slowly took the card from her fingers. She waited longer for him to say something, to offer a promise to see her again. He didn't. He was still trying to figure out how he felt about all of this.  
  
When she received nothing else in return, Tawny nodded slightly and turned back to her car. Chance caught her before she could get in, arms around her shoulders.  
  
"I'm glad you're still here," he whispered. And he didn't just mean in Megakat City.  
  
Tawny was surprised at the suddenly show of affection. Then she smiled as she extricated herself from the large kat's embrace. Reaching up on her toes, she kissed his forehead and then moved away. With only a glance in Jake's direction, she got into her car.  
  
The two heroes stood together, watching her drive off in a cloud of dust. They remained in silent vigil until that trail of dust left their city and disappeared over the horizon.

 

 **TO BE CONTINUED** : I know this feels like it's the last chapter, but it's not. There's still one more action-packed chapter to go after this. So make sure you stick around for it :)  


 


	7. Alias

**Masks**  
**Chapter 7: Alias**

  
Summer turned into winter, and winter into summer once more. Life moved on as normal and no other calamitous event wrought itself upon Megakat City during that time. Winter was always the slow season, it was as if most villains hibernated through the snow or moved on to warmer climates for the holidays.  
  
Jake and Chance fell into their usual routine of repairing cars and fiddling with new gismos. Viper's latest escapades went unmentioned as just another adventure chalked up for the books. But any time they went into the city and passed the Enforcer building construction, they got quiet.

* * *

  


After one such excursion to the city for groceries, the duo returned to find an unfamiliar vehicle parked outside. It was late, the garage was closed, but their door was wide open. Looking at each other, they pulled out the guns they kept in a secret compartment in the truck and carefully crept inside.  
  
Jake went in first, flicking on the lights and doing a quick sweep of the garage and the front office, moving into their living area. Chance watched his tail, ducking to check under the vehicles in the garage and making sure no one was coming in behind them. Each room was systematically searched and every time they came up with nothing that sinking feeling in their guts got heavier and heavier.  
  
There was no question someone was here with that car parked out front. And if they weren't up in the garage, it meant they could only be down below in the hanger. They both crouched at the ladder's entrance, hearts beating and paws clutching their weapons. Who had found them this time? Was it going to be like the Metallikats all over again?  
  
The lights were already on down there; certainly not left on by the owners. Jake dropped down, not even bothering to use the ladder. He landed into a crouch, gun pointed.  
  
"Ah, there you are," a voice said calmly.  
  
Jake spun toward the sound. There was indeed a kat in their hanger; male, tall, sharply dressed. Jake had never seen him before in his life.  
  
The kat merely raised his paws in surrender. "I'm not armed."  
  
Chance joined his partner below, both of them now training their weapons on the intruder. While they were glad it at least wasn't one of their usual arch villains, they still had a big problem.  
  
"Who are you and what are you doing here?"  
  
"Please, allow me," the kat said as he carefully reached into his jacket as nonthreatening as possible.  
  
"Slowly," Chance warned, both still ready to pull the trigger at the slightest hint of danger.  
  
The tom kat pulled out a wallet-shaped object and flashed them an official-looking badge. "Special Agent Stone, KBI."  
  
Their hearts instantly jumped up into the pilot's throats. Perhaps this was even worse than one of their enemies finding the hanger. If the KBI knew about them, the SWAT Kat's days were over and everything they owned would be expropriated to the government.  
  
Jake instantly lowered his weapon, his face pale. Chance wasn't so easily swayed. Something wasn't right. If the KBI came to take them out, why was there only one agent?  
  
"What is this?" the burly tom demanded. "What do you want?"  
  
Agent Stone returned his badge and straightened his black suit. "I apologize for coming in like this. I got tired of waiting and, I have to admit, I have been dying to see inside your hanger for a while, T-Bone and Razor."  
  
Chance just growled. It couldn't end like this. He wasn't going to go down without a fight if this suit thought he had the upper hand just because he knew their aliases.  
  
"Exactly how long have you wanted to come here?" Jake asked.  
  
"Ever since we discovered your identities, of course. It's been a few years now."  
  
It was that comment that caused Chance to finally lower his gun. They had been made all that time? Now he was feeling lightheaded. "How... how did you know?"  
Agent Stone just grinned at them. "We are the KBI after all. We have eyes in the skies and ears everywhere. Do you think we would allow two vigilantes with the type of artillery you have to run around unchecked?"  
  
"But you _have_ been letting us run around," Jake pointed out, feeling a little numb. This whole conversation was so surreal.  
  
"Yes we have, because the truth of the matter is we couldn't train kats like you on our best day. The two of you are something extraordinary and you came about that all on your own. This world gets stranger and stranger by the day and even our agents aren't able to keep up with the changes. You two, however, jump into the danger without orders or pay. And you have managed to come out on top every time.  
  
"Megakat City- no, the world- needs the SWAT Kats. That is why we've allowed you free reign all this time. But we have always been watching as. If you two ever decided to work for the other side, you can bet agents will swarm this place faster than you can board your jet."  
  
"So what do you want from us then?" Chance asked, now more irritated at the intrusion than scared of what this kat could do to him. "Is this a warning to keep our whiskers clean?"  
  
Agent Stone put his paws in his pockets, expression rueful. "I need your help."  
  
"The KBI needs _our_ help?" Chance snorted.  
  
"The agency doesn't know I'm here. I'm the one who needs your help. More specifically, Tawny needs your help."  
  
"What? Why? What's going on?"  
  
Stone pulled a file from his jacket. He held it out, waiting for the pilots to come to him. Chance strode over without a second thought and took the folder, instantly glancing over the information.

“Tawny Furfax. Alias: Black Kat,” Stone said. “We knew who she was mere months after she put on the mask. Since she's most definitely no SWAT Kat, the bureau wanted to get her off the streets. Mostly they were worried she would get herself killed or botch up our attempts at building a case against these large crime lords.

“But not only did she prove to be far more competent than we thought, the weaponry her company produced was far more advanced than what we had in our R and D departments.”

“So you guys couldn't pass up the opportunity to have Furfax Industries under your thumbs,” Jake surmised with a cross of his arms.

“My bosses couldn't,” Stone confirmed. “But more than than, we could help each other. Tawny put on the mask to save her own life. If she got in trouble we could back her up, and she could help us build our cases against high profile illegal cartels like Vinnie Bombay's.

“Recently we pulled her into an investigation with the Katolinni family. Instead of using Black Kat, we sent Tawny under cover.”  
  
"And why would you government big shots need her to do your jobs? She has her own life," Chance growled, crinkling the file in his fists. "Hasn't she been through enough? Why can you just leave her alone?"  
  
Agent Stone sighed. "Believe me, if it were my call, we would. But just like the two of you Tawny Furfax has a unique skill that can't be trained into an agent. She can take on any given role and immerse herself into that character, seamlessly become that other persona."

Stone pointed to the pictures in the file. There was a photo of a she kat with a short skirt and long legs. She had large, pouty lips and a thick shock of electric blue hair. Definitely a she kat dressed to grab attention from anyone in the room. "This is Lola Katolinni, the daughter of Tony Katolinni, Purrson Heights's current high roller. Lola was arrested for her third DUI, and the Bureau could not pass up. The opportunity. Tawny was the right height and body type. With her holographic generator, she could look and sound every bit like Lola from ear to tail. No one else would be able to play that part as thoroughly convincing as she could.  
  
"While the real Lola was secretly put in jail for a four month sentence, Tawny has been taking her place, having free reign of the house for the past three months."  
  
"But she wasn't good enough," Jake surmised. "They realized she was an impostor."  
  
"Not under any fault of hers," Stone insisted. "She was magnificently flawless in the role. No one suspected a thing; it was our screw up. We had a leak somewhere. Somehow, word got out that the real Lola was still in jail. Tawny's cover has been compromised." He ran an agitated paw through his thick, blond hair. "She's been missing for almost sixteen hours and we're fearing the worst."  
  
Chance immediately began to growl. He was furious. Mad at this arrogant suit who put Tawny in danger. Mad at her for allowing herself to go along with these bureaucratic idiots. Mad at himself for never calling to check up on her all this time.  
  
Jake understood the feeling, but remained outwardly calm. There would be plenty of time to get mad when Tawny was safe. "What can we do to help?"  
  
Agent Stone seemed to break a bit right there, shrugging helplessly. "You're the heroes," he said, voice cracking a little, "do what you do. We believe Tawny's being held in a secret sub basement below the house. We don't know how to get to it. We've gone in with warrants before, but we've never been able to find it. Our paws are tied with red tape, but you two, you're outside the law. If a pair of vigilantes busted into that house and tore it up, that wouldn't be anything related to the Bureau. But you would be putting your lives in danger. There's a lot of armed kats in that building. Even more now that they have a hostage."  
  
Chance and Jake looked at each other. There was no choice in the matter.  
  
"Not like we haven't been shot at before," Jake said.  
  
"And lucky for you, busting things up is our specialty."  
  
Agent Stone smiled at them. "She's spoken highly of you two ever since she got back from Megakat City."  
  
"And what are you going to be doing?" Chance asked, already grabbing his G-suit from his locker.  
  
"Me?" Stone asked with a grin, stepping backward into the darkness of the take off ramp. "I was never here."

* * *

  


The night skies over Purrson Heights were overcast and unfamiliar. The SWAT Kats relied heavily on their GPS and guidance systems to navigate the area. The stars were completely blocked by heavy clouds. It served as extra cover for the Turbokat as the jet hovered over the Katolinni estate.  
  
"Look at the size of that place," T-Bone said with a low whistle. Even from their altitude, the impressive mansion was plenty large. "It really cranks my whiskers to see scumbags like these live like kings while we're stuck with that junk yard."  
  
Razor offered no accession. He plugged himself into their dimensional radar, scanning the grounds. "The agent was right, there's an extra level below the basement." A 3D image of the house and all its levels rotated on his screen, giving him a view of the estate from all angles. "It's heavily fortified, too. Metal and cement walls. If they've got Tawny, she'll be in there."  
  
"She better be in one piece or the Turbokat and I will tear this place apart," T-Bone promised.  
  
Again, Razor remained silent. He had been very tight lipped about anything involving the she kat since their last encounter. Even T-Bone had no idea how his partner felt about all that had happened.  
  
The property was located well outside the city, cloistered among a thick grove of trees which tapered into preserved forest territory. A perfect place to land the jet without being discovered. Below the canopy of evergreens, it was nearly dark as night. The masked pilots blended well into the shadows of the forest with their dark G-suits.  
  
They reached the edge of the treeline. It cut off sharply into a sprawling, finely kept yard. The house itself seemed innocuous enough. No armed guards on the outside, no search lights. But that didn't mean it wasn't well protected.  
  
"It's just grass all the way up," T-Bone whispered. The mansion was still several yards away. "No cover."  
  
"Probably so they can see anyone coming," Razor replied. He pressed a button on the side of his helmet and a visor slid over his eyes. The mini computer in the helmet immediately went to work scanning the area. "I'm picking up both cameras and motion detectors on the property."  
  
T-Bone activated his own scanner. "Puh, we've seen worse. These guys are watching out for the feds, they're not ready to handle us."  
  
"Roger that."  
  
The two crept around the grounds to far side of the house- the weakest point in their security. There, the grass conceded to a lovely garden of bushes and flowers. The few motion sensors hidden among the foliage were easy to avoid. The single rotating camera was not fast enough to catch the cunning pilots.  
  
Once pressed flush against the side of the house, T-Bone peered around the corner. Two muscular kats were lounging on the back deck, smoking indolently into the night. T-Bone had no doubt they were well armed. It would be best to avoid them. With armed kats no doubt guarding every door in the house, they would have to get creative. On this shadowed side of the estate, there was only one window, high up on the third floor.  
  
Razor went up first, firing his grappling hook. Timing his movement with the rotating camera, he ran up the wall with the aid of the Glovatrix pull. Once reaching the top floor, Razor inspected the window. Inside, the frame was wired with a motion sensor. Easy to circumnavigate. He activated his glass-cutting laser and neatly removed the glass right from the frame.  
  
After crawling inside, Razor signaled his partner that everything looked safe and T-Bone climbed up after him.  
  
The window led to the attic, full of old furniture and various other boxed junk. All covered with several year's worth of dust. T-Bone peered outside to make double sure no one saw them. Razor padded over to the door, checking for any more motions sensors before peeking out. Before him extended a set of wooden stairs leading down to the next level. T-Bone was at his back, ready for anything, as the two descended.  
  
The house was dark and quiet. Hopefully most of the family members had retired to bed by now. From the KBI files, the SWAT Kats learned that Lola Katolinni was the oldest of four children. The family resided in the estate. No matter what their father used the subbasement for, this was their home. The last thing either vigilante wanted was for civilians to get involved if any fire fights broke out.  
  
The hallway on second floor was empty and silent, all bedroom doors closed. A grandfather clock ticked away at the head of the stairs. Razor swiveled his ears, listening for any movement behind the doors. No one stirred.  
  
Down the next flight they crept onto the main floor. An expansive foyer with glittering tiles stretched out before them. Near the front door, a kat was stationed at a desk, eyes glued on three surveillance screens. He was still watching out for intruders outside. He didn't notice the two encroachers slink behind him and move further into the house.  
  
Razor brought up the house schematics on his Glovatrix screen, courtesy of the dimensional radar's findings. He led them unerringly to an impressive study room, complete with fire place, plush reading chairs and ceiling to floor bookshelves. A grand oak desk squatted in one corner, a black grand piano in the other by the windows.  
  
"This is it," Razor said in a cautious voice. It was pitch dark inside, the only light coming from his Glovatrix screen. "There should be a set of stairs right behind... this wall." He gazed up and down at the sheer barrier of book shelves.  
  
"Ah, the old secret door in the library," T-Bone said as he cracked his knuckles. "So what, we pull out all the books to see which one is the trigger?"  
  
"If a book even is the trigger," Razor replied. He gazed over the room. "It could be anything, a knob on the fireplace, a secret button hidden in the desk, a certain string of notes on the piano keys..."  
  
T-Bone growled out a sigh. "That could take forever. I say we just take out the wall and rush down there."  
  
Before Razor could offer the many reasons why that was a bad idea, they heard the door open. The pilots quickly scrambled out of sight as the lights flicked on. T-Bone could see two pairs of shoes stroll in from where he crouched beneath the desk. Razor peered from behind a chair. Both kats were larger than he. This Katolinni guy sure liked his muscle.  
  
One of the thugs reached into his coat and pulled out a small device the size of a keychain. He pressed a button and the entire wall slid open. The cement stairs below were swallowed in blackness and he flicked on the light. Behind him, there was a shattering sound and a heavy thud. The kat spun around to find his companion on the floor, a broken vase near his head. A thin masked kat in a flight suit stood over him and the thug panicked, reaching for his gun. A second, burlier masked kat appeared and all the hired muscle saw was T-Bone's fist before he crumpled to the ground.  
  
T-Bone caught the kat so he wouldn't fall down the stairs.  
  
Razor recovered the remote device. "Or, I guess these days villains carry the key on them," he quipped.  
  
"Come on," T-bone called as he hurried down the stairs.  
  
Caution was momentarily forgotten at his find and he paid for it. Before reaching the bottom step, another kat appeared from the tunnel below. This one had a shot gun in his paws. He immediately fired at the sight of the SWAT Kats. The booming shots in the enclosed space deafened the pilots as they scrambled out of the way. There was no way any of the hired guns on the property would miss that sound.  
  
T-Bone activated the shield on his Glovatrix while Razor ducked behind him and fired mini cement launchers. The gun kat was hit right in the eyes. He squawked in surprise as T-Bone rushed him. Another gun shot went wild before the masked kat tore the weapon from his grip and chopped the kat in the back of the neck. He crumpled to the ground, out cold.  
  
Razor was already racing down the tunnel, shield up. "Our cover's blown, buddy. We've got to find her before they decide she's too much of a liability to keep alive." _If she isn't dead already.  
_  
T-Bone was at his tail. The tunnel veered a hard left. As they raced around the corner, it opened up into a wide room with low ceiling. More armed kats were waiting for them. The vigilantes fled back around the corner from the barrage of bullets.  
  
Razor dared to steal a quick glance before another fusillade whisked by his ear. Behind the firing thugs, he caught sight of a large, middle aged kat, portly and short. He was well dressed with an air of command about him, most likely the boss. He was yanking a female form down the back of the tunnel. The she kat was barefoot, in a skimpy dirty dress. Her head was covered with a bag, but the ginger coat was a familiar pattern of subtle stripes.  
  
"T-Bone, they've got her! She's being dragged out the back."  
  
"Where does the tunnel lead?"  
  
"I don't know, I didn't see it on the screen. It must be too deep underground for the dimensional radar to penetrate."  
  
T-bone fetched a handful of black orbs from his pocket. "Then we go through," he said with determination.  
  
Handing them to Razor, the smaller SWAT Kat lobbed the objects down the tunnel. The armed kats backed away in suspicion as the unfamiliar objects rolled toward them. The black orbs popped open down the middle and released a thick, black smoke into the air.  
  
"Hold your ground," one of the kats called. "They're trying to confuse us. Don't let anyone through."  
  
Then, when entire visibility was lost, the smoke balls exploded. Not enough of a charge to kill a kat, but it sure threw a few of them off their feet. T-Bone and Razor rushed through in the chaos as the kats stumbled blindly and groaned. Out of the smoke they raced and down the dark tunnel. It began to slope upward, lights up ahead.  
  
They emerged into a cave-- right into more gunfire. Once again, the SWAT Kats were forced back under the barrage. Match-head missiles flew from the tunnel, disarming Tony and his accompanying thug. Razor jumped into the open, Glovatrix aimed. But before he could fire, the mouth of the tunnel closed.

Both pilots scratched and pushed at the barrier, but they were sealed in by a wall of solid cement.  
  
Razor tried the key they had stolen earlier. He pushed every button, but nothing happened. It seemed only Tony Katolinni had the right device for this end of the tunnel.  
  
"Come on, buddy," Razor called, running back down the tunnel. "I saw water and a boat. They're going to be on the lake, headed for open ocean. We need the jet."  
  
They raced back up the tunnel, tearing through the group of thugs still stumbling around. Any kat able to give them trouble was hit with nets or cement as the SWAT Kats ran through. Up the stairs and into the study, Razor pulled out the key, locking the tunnel entrance behind them before any kats could follow.

They dashed into the hallway, hearing startled cries behind them before bullets whizzed by their heads. They reached the main foyer and Razor turned with a growl, Gloveatrix aimed. He was so tired of being shot at.  
  
Ahead, T-Bone noticed something that stopped his heart cold. A male kitten of about five was blearily standing at the bottom of the stairs, rubbing one eye. He glanced at his partner. "Razor, don't! There's a--"  
  
But Razor had already fired. A missile shot down the hall; the plain, ordinary kind that knew how to blow up real good. The goon squad scattered in his wake and T-Bone grabbed the kitten as the two ran for a safer distance. The heat of the explosion was enough to lick at their backs and knock them to the ground. T-Bone rolled to his knees, the kitten in his arms unharmed.  
  
"Wow! You're the SWAT Kats!" the kid exclaimed, eyes now bright with excitement. "What are you doing at my house? Are there bad guys here?"  
  
The vigilantes looked at each other. This kid's father was the 'bad guy' they were after.  
  
"Uh, yeah, bad guys," Razor mumbled as retreated for the door.  
  
The kitten watched him leave in confusion. "Hey, wait."  
  
"Gotta go kid," T-Bone called as he ran backwards. "Got hero stuff to do. Uh, eat your vegetables, stay in school. Oh! And tell your dad you want to be a cop! He'll love that!"  
  
The kitten heard his mother give a startled cry as smoke alarms in the house began to go off. He couldn't wait to tell his mother who he saw.

* * *

  


Tony Katolinni couldn't believe how fast the litter had hit the fan. First, the imposter impersonating his daughter. God only knew how long that bitch had been in his house, among his family without him even knowing it. That thought alone was almost enough to put a bullet in her skull where she stood.

But first, he had to find out who she was working for and why she was there. Even when his boys roughed her up the whore wasn't talking. But when they pumped her full of truth serum, her faces paled as the KBI passed over her lips. If she was an agent, they were in trouble. Tony had been trying to figure out what to do with her ever since. The best course of action seemed to simply do away with her and disappear the body.

Then the situation worsened. Tony had only heard of the SWAT Kats from the news. What were they doing in Purrson Heights? How did they get past his security? And how had they infiltrated his secret tunnels so easily? Agent Stone had be behind this. A constant thorn in his side, that bastard had to be the reason for all of this.  
  
Cold droplets stung Tony's face as the boat raced over the lake behind his estate. At his feet, Stone's whore lay feebly at the bottom of the hull. Still blinded with wrists tied behind her back, the ginger she kat was practically useless now. Delirious from the beating and all the drugs that had been pumped into her system, she hardly had enough control in her limbs to stand. She could do little more than curl up and shiver. Maybe when they reached the ocean, Tony would just throw her overboard.  
  
From the middle of the lake, he heard sirens in the distance. He gazed in the direction of his estate and nearly fell overboard. "What the-- what the hell did they do to my house!?"  
  
One side of the mansion was choked in smoke, flames lighting up the low hanging clouds. "Those two clowns are dead! You hear me, dead! NO ONE attacks me in my own home! Not in my town!"  
  
The shrill scream of jet engines rose from the trees, a sharp shadow making a bee line for the boat.  
  
"Boss, they're coming!"  
  
Tony gawked at where his henchkat was pointing. What would it take to get rid of these masks jokers? "Don't just stand there! Shoot them down!"  
  
Both kats opened fire as the Turbokat caught up to them, its black belly hovering closer. It was peppered with gunfire, but mere bullets were not strong enough to do more than dent the jet's thick armor.  
  
When he saw they were out of their league with the vigilantes, Tony grabbed the she kat, yanking her to her feet. She stood uneasily, barely able to hold her weight as he pressed his gun to her bagged head. "You follow us and I blow her brains out," he yelled at the sky. "Do you understand that, you costumed wackbags?"  
The Turbokat slowly pulled higher.  
  
"Not as stupid as they look," he muttered.  
  
"Boss, they're going to follow us with that jet no matter what we do," the other kat said. "There's no way we can lose them."  
  
"We need ta give them somethin' else ta chase," Tony decided. "Grab that sandbag, tie up the girl."  
  
He grabbed a thick rope and tied the sandbag around the she kat's ankles. The Turbokat was getting closer again, despite the gun held to the hostage's head. The belly of the jet opened, Razor standing in view, Glovatrix aimed.  
  
Tony just smirked at the SWAT Kat. "Go fish for her."  
  
He shoved the she kat off the side of the boat, sandbag and all. Her thin form instantly disappeared beneath the water, left far behind by the speeding vehicles.  
  
Razor's eyes widened in horror. "T-Bone! T-Bone, go back! Right now!"  
  
The jet put on the brakes, hovering in mid air and rotating before taking off back the way it came. Razor grabbed an oxygen mask from the cargo hull and the heaviest missile he could carry. He didn't even bother to ask T-Bone if they were close to the spot where the she kat went under. He trusted his partner's judgment. The second the jet stopped he jumped in the water.  
  
The missile weighed him down like a bag of rocks, hurling Razor toward the bottom of the lake. The light from the triangle on his helmet illuminated the depths as he was pulled deeper. Further below, he saw a form, pale dress glowing in the light like a ghost. He swam for the body, carefully and quickly cutting free the bag on the she kat's head.  
  
Once free, Razor shoved his oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. Tawny's eyes fluttered as she gasped in coughing breaths. Razor put her paw in the mask as a silent order to hold it there. He moved down to cut the rope at her ankle. With she kat in his arms, he gave a strong kick, propelling them both to the surface.  
  
Two heads broke through the water. Tawny sputtered and coughed up liquid.

“Razor,” was all she managed to say, her thin arms around his neck.

She was so weak, Razor had to swim for both of them.  
  
The Turbokat hovered nearby, only a few feet from the lake's surface. T-Bone appeared from the open belly as Razor swam them both over. T-Bone gently lifted Tawny's weakened form into the jet as Razor climbed in.  
  
"I'll keep an eye on her buddy,” Razor said as he held the weak form. “You go get that slimeball."

"Roger," T-Bone growled as he climbed back up to the cockpit.  
  
The jet surged forward. Razor held the trembling body close, brushing matted hair out of her face.  
  
Tawny coughed and weakly opened her golden eyes. "You were the last kats I ever expected to see."  
"We had an unexpected visitor inform us you could use some assistance."  
  
The she kat sighed softly. "Stone. He never let's me down."  
  
Razor felt an unexpected surge of emotion at her gentle smile. Was that jealousy he felt?  
  
Above, T-Bone had all sensors on full alert. Katolinni's boat had now broken for open water. He probably hoped to get lost amongst the expanse of the ocean and disappear into the darkness, but he didn't know the Turbokat. T-Bone didn't need the light of day to search for the fleeing mobster. His scanners and the dimentional radar showed him everything from the boats on the surface to the fish below. A fleeing speedboat in the middle of the night was easy to pick up.  
  
The the Turbokat raced toward its prey, catching up within seconds. The two kats aboard, despite their last failed attempt, fired upon the jet again until all their bullets ran out. A massive claw extended from the Turbokat's belly. Like picking up a toy out of a claw machine, the boat was captured and lifted into the air. The two startled kats cried out and crouched to the floor as they were lifted high above the water, back toward the smoking mansion.  
  
By then, Razor had climbed up into his seat, Tawny curled up in his lab. Her head rested on his shoulder, bridge of her nose pressed against his neck. She looked exhausted and a bit green at the gills. T-Bone only spared her a quick glance, he still had work to do.  
  
Flying over the Katalonni estate, several emergency vehicles were now on sight. Firefighters swarmed into the home while police units covered the grounds, their red and blue lights flickering. A few black, unmarked vehicles were parked as well. Well dressed federal agents surveyed the scene from afar.

All kats gazed skyward as the Turbokat appeared out of the inky blackness of night. It hovered over an expensive sports car parked right up front.  
  
"No! Not my car!" Tony cried.  
  
The boat was unceremoniously dropped onto the vehicle, crunching and shattering under the weight.  
  
"That should keep all the officials busy," T-Bone announced. "I hope they like my present."  
  
"I hope it's enough to keep them off our tails for a while," Razor said quietly. He gazed down to the she kat in his arms. "We need to get you to a hospital."  
  
"No," she immediately protested. "I don't need one, I'll be fine. Just take me home. Please."  
  
Razor sighed and looked to his partner. The two understood. How many times had they dragged themselves home instead of getting medical aid? It was another part that came with the mask, that came with their life style.  
  
T-Bone quietly rotated the jet and took off into the sky.

* * *

  


Neither pilot had been to the Furfax estate before, but they located it easily enough with the help of their GPS. The mansion, while still large, wasn't quite as ostentatious as the one they had recently damaged. The building was beautiful, but simple with ample gardens and trees dotting the property. T-Bone landed the jet behind the house and Razor carried Tawny inside.  
  
Though clearly exhausted, she managed to give him directions to her bedroom; a very modest area, unlike the rest of the mansion. Tawny seemed to have passed out by the time Razor lay her in bed. The two pilots stood there, watching her while she slept.  
  
"We should probably get those wet clothes off her," T-Bone stated.

“Yeah,” Razor agreed.  
  
Neither SWAT Kat moved to touch her. They weren't entirely sure what was the proper protocol for touching sleeping she kats.  
  
Tawny groaned and rolled herself in the thick bedding, burrowing until just the top of her head could be seen. The pilots decided that would be good enough for now. It was the middle of summer after all. And, with the owner being gone for several months, the house was rather warm without air conditioning. At least she wasn't going to freeze.  
  
"I'm going to check out the house," T-Bone said.  
  
"Really?" Razor demanded.  
  
"I'm not trying to nose around, I want to keep an eye out, make sure no one comes to bother us tonight."  
  
Razor eventually nodded. "Sounds like a good idea."

* * *

 

It was dark inside her bedroom when Tawny stirred. Despite her exhaustion, her eyes flew open as her stomach roiled. On drunken limbs, she stumbled from bed, clamoring for the bathroom. In the corner of her eye, she took note of a figure sitting in her reading chair. She couldn't process much more, pawing for the door frame to catch her balance. She didn't even flick on the lights before jerking up the toilet lid and heaving.  
  
The bile burned as her stomach rejected all its contents. There wasn't much to reject, she hadn't eaten in almost 24 hours. The drugs made her sick; the truth serum Katolinni's boys gave her in order to find out what she knew. Her head spun as she thought about her time below the mansion; tied up, beaten, wondering if that night would be her last. Her stomach lurched and she heaved again.  
  
As she spit out the acrid, filmy substance, she became aware someone was standing behind her. At a glance she saw thin legs and dark blue material.  
"Mouth wash," she ground out in a harsh voice, motioning weakly toward the vanity.  
  
Razor silently opened the bathroom mirror, inspecting the contents. He handed her a bottle of blue mouth wash which was accepted gratefully. Razor watched her as she took a swig and spat that as well into the toilet. The tiny straps of her ruined dress left her shoulders and back bare. He could see all the scars that mottled the fur of her back and arms. A she kat shouldn't have such scars.  
  
He knew his own body held much of the same. How often did he stand in front of a mirror, wondering if he would ever meet a she kat whom he dared to show all his scars. Would she ask him how he got so many? Would he have to lie to her?  
  
Tawny closed the toilet lid with disgust and flushed. She remained there for a moment, forehead pressed against the cool porcelain. Razor crouched down to her level as she rolled her head to look at him, cheek resting tiredly on her arms. He smelled like moss and lake water, they both did. He still wore the full flight suit and mask, only the helmet has been removed. Razor didn't say a thing, just watched her with sharp eyes.  
  
Tawny reached out for his mask. Razor allowed her to slowly pull it off his face.  
  
"You never came to visit," she whispered.  
  
His expression was gentle, rueful. "I'm sorry, I've been busy."  
  
She sat up, leaning against the tub with a sigh. Her head lolled back as if she didn't have the strength to hold it up. "Thank you for coming. They would have killed me."  
  
"Thank Agent Stone. If it weren't for him breaking protocol to tell us what happened to you, we never would have known."  
  
Tawny chuckled weakly. "Yeah, I can't believe he did that. He could lose his job for making contact with you two. But he's so great. He's always been willing to put himself out there for me."  
  
"Yeah, he really seems to care about you."  
  
Tawny couldn't help but chuckle at the flatness of his tone. "Jake, he's married. He just wants to look out for me. He said I remind him of his sister." While the tom kat processed that information, Tawny ran her fingers through her hair with a sigh. "I still can't believe they blindsided me like that. I shouldn't have needed a rescue in the first place. I thought my cover was perfect. I don't know what I did wrong."  
  
"It wasn't you," Jake said. "Stone told us someone found out the real Lola was still in jail. They knew you were an impostor."  
  
"Well at least it's over now. I don't want to wear another pair of stilettos as long as I live."  
  
By now, Jake was sitting on the floor as well, leaning against the counter. "I like you better this way; your face expressive, your eyes alive. I keep wondering which one is the real you. You were like two different kats."  
  
"Black Kat isn't real, Jake. She's just a farce, a character. It's not who I am."  
  
"Neither was it you the last time I saw Tawny Furfax," Jake insisted. "I know that kat, too, is just a mask, a front. A part you play. You can be your real self with me and with Chance. I know he'd like that."  
  
She smiled at him, sad and then grateful. She nodded slowly and the two sat in companionable silence.  
  
"Is it just me, or is it sweltering in here?" Tawny then spoke. "Do I have a fever or something?"  
  
"No, the AC's off."  
  
"Can you go turn it on? There should be a control panel just down the hall."  
  
Jake stood to grant the request, more than happy to get some cool air into the stagnant room. He located a glowing panel at the opposite end of a long hallway. After a second of looking over the buttons, he figured out how to turn it on and soon blissfully cool air was piped into the house.  
  
By the time he returned to the bedroom, Tawny had slipped into a long T-shirt, her ruined dress discarded on the floor. She turned when Jake approached, stepping forward to meet him. They locked eyes in the darkness.  
  
"This suit smells rancid," Tawny said quietly as she fiddled with Jake's zipper.  
  
He allowed her to unzip his suit, shrugging it off his shoulders until the top half was hanging from his waist. He wore a white wife beater underneath. Tawny gingerly touched the material at his waist, it was still damp. She swayed a little and Jake held her shoulders to steady her.  
  
"You need sleep," he told her gently.  
  
She leaned closer to him. Jake could feel her breath on his fur. When he made no further move, she let out a long, soft breath and turned toward the bed. She was exhausted, her balance still affected. Tawny practically tumbled onto the mattress. To her wide-eyed surprise, Jake followed her. He kicked off the rest of his fight suit as he climbed into bed in just a shirt and boxers.  
  
Tawny lay on her pillow, suddenly timid with arms folded against her chest. Jake tucked one arm under his head while the other pulled her next to him. Her head settled on his shoulder, one paw tentatively on his stomach. Lulled by his heartbeat, she quickly succumbed to her fatigue and drifted off, feeling safe for the first time in a very long time.  
  
In the darkened doorway, a large figure lurked, eyes shining and whiskers twitching. He was lured upstairs when the cool air had finally been activated. Mask removed and suit hanging around his sweaty waist, he silently watched the slumbering kats. With the flick of an ear and a smirk, Chance quietly padded back downstairs.

* * *

  


Tawny woke up alone; it was still dark outside. She groaned at not being able to sleep until daylight. At least the house was cooler now. Retrieving a pair of flannel pants, she padded downstairs. The shadowed house was still the same, no matter how many nights she had been gone, no matter how much life-threatening craziness she got herself into.  
  
The sky was clear where it had been overcast earlier. The nearly full moon shone through her large picture windows, throwing squares of illumination across the hallway. In her back yard, she saw the Turbokat shining in the moonlight.  
  
At being reminded of her guests, she perked up her ears for any sound of movement. She followed the low murmurs of voices to the brightly lit kitchen where Jake and Chance sat at her table playing cards. Milk cans and chips were stationed around them.  
  
Chance was facing the doorway and noticed her first. "Well look who's finally up." Both of them were dressed in street clothes and looking far fresher than she felt.  
  
"Hey guys," she said in a scratchy voice. Her hair stuck up around her face in all angles and she tried fruitlessly to tame it. "I'm glad you found something to eat. I'm afraid I don't have much to offer right now."  
  
"Don't worry about it," Chance said, taking a sip of milk, "we went shopping."  
  
"You did?" She blinked at him. Glancing at the clock, it said 4AM. "How long have I been sleeping?"  
"Over 24 hours."  
  
Tawny leaned against the counter in bewilderment. "I've been out a whole day? Wh... why are you guys still here? The jet's just sitting in my backyard."  
  
Chance stood and offered his chair. "Sit down and finish my hand. I'm going to make you an omelet."  
  
She sat obediently, expression still blank. "But... it's the middle of the night."  
  
"Never too late or too early for breakfast," Chance insisted as he pulled eggs from the fridge.  
  
As food simmered on the pan, Tawny's gaze eventually wandered over to Jake. The tom kat had set his cards down, watching her expectantly.  
  
"I'm sorry you guys got involved in this,” she apologized. “I'm sorry you had feds telling you what they knew. It's a horrible feeling, isn't it? To know that faceless kats out there know your secret. That they can end it all at any time. You don't deserve to live in their shadow like that."  
  
"You mean like you have to?" Chance shot from the oven.  
  
"Well technically that doesn't change anything," Jake said. "They've known who we are for a while. Now we just know that they know."  
  
Tawny grew quiet and the rest of the kitchen with her. When steaming food was produced, she ate with relish. It had been two days since she had any nourishment. She was starving. Once sated, she excused herself to shower. Her fur was matted and filthy; she smelled awful. She cranked up the hot water, trying to scald the past six month's accumulated filth from her coat.  
  
Nausea threatened to settle in as she thought about her latest mission. It was the worst one she had ever been on. As the Black Kat, she felt free. She did things her way on her own agenda. That reckless part of herself that thrived on danger was allowed to come out and play. Even if she was still been fighting for her life, she felt so free when donning the mask.  
  
Working for the KBI was worse. Even though she liked Stone, it was suffocating to be under their thumb. They knew who she was and what she had done. Though they preferred not to call it by such an ugly name, they were blackmailing her into working for them. This time it had almost cost her life. She never wanted Chance and Jake to fall into this situation. The work they did was far more important than anything the KBI dragged her into. And she hoped they realized how important the SWAT Kats were to the world so they would be left alone.  
  
Once cleaned and dressed, Tawny sat in front of the mirror, drying her hair. A purple bruise on her check bone was forming, her eye slightly swollen. Her body let her know about all the other damage she had incurred over the past two days.  
  
"Why do you keep doing this to yourself?" she asked her reflection. "Is it really worth it? Aren't you tired?"  
  
In these quiet times, Tawny often wondered about her alter ego. Sometimes it seemed she and Black Kat were not one in the same. Sometimes she would imagine what Black Kat would say to her if she were real.  
  
_Are you ready to call it quits so easy, Kitty Girl? Will you let those suits take this away from you?  
  
_I did this to keep myself safe and see that my family saw justice, she reminded herself. Bombay's gone now, it's over. I don't have to fight for it any more.  
  
_Then why did you put the mask back on when you came home? Why were you still hunting bad guys?  
  
_Tawny paused. Why did she continue to moonlight as Black Kat? Why couldn't she give up the streets? Why couldn't she give up the rush?  
  
_Because you love the rush. You love the excitement, the challenge. And you love protecting those who can't protect themselves.  
_  
Tawny Furfax was merely the first of many whose life had been saved by Black Kat. She would continue to save lives if the stupid KBI would just leave her alone.  
  
_They need you more than you need them. They threaten to expose you, but they won't. Imagine the public outrage when they stick you at the top of every villain's hit list. The public won't stand for it. Not to mention they'll lose that fat contract for all those toys you're making for them. Don't you see Kitty-Girl? You have the upper hand.  
_  
"I do!" Tawny announced out loud, surprise in her voice. "Especially since--" She glanced behind her to the doorway, as if that alone provided her a full view of her house and all within. She couldn't help but grin as she thought of the other kats somewhere downstairs. Those beautiful pilots had saved her again.

* * *

  


She found the two toms playing around in her gym room, sparing on the practice mats and none too seriously. It seemed this latest mission had interrupted everyone's sleep schedules. Tawny took a few minutes to watch them play. It was nice to hear voices, life, inside her big empty house. When the sun rose again, she had no doubt that this time they would leave. Perhaps for good. Though their worlds were similar, they were still very far apart.  
  
"Hey guys."  
  
Jack and Chance stopped tussling like kittens. Good humor shone in their eyes when they looked at her. Her heart grew even sadder to see them go.  
  
"Join me on the roof?" She had wine glasses and a bottle of expensive cream in her paws.  
  
The two pilots looked at each other then followed her lead.  
  
They settled together on the roof of the mansion, overlooking the vast gardens. The Turbokat nested among the foliage like a bird. The toms sat on either side of her, sipping their glasses and watching the sky.  
  
"Don't you think it's weird that we both ended up being costume vigilantes?" Chance asked out of the blue.  
  
Tawny laughed right out. "Yeah, I've wondered about that. Maybe something in the water? Or all those Kat Kommando comics we read as kittens? You two had far more altruistic motives than I.”

“No,” Chance argued, staring down at his jet. “For us, it was about our egos. Of course we wanted to save lives, that's why we became Enforcers in the first place; but the driving force for the SWAT Kats at the beginning was getting back at Feral for firing us. We wanted to show him how much better we were. We wanted to make him look like a fool. Everything else came secondary.”

“At least back then,” Jake put in with a sip of his glass. “Now it's about the race, trying to stay one step ahead of the big nasties that the Enforcers can't handle. Now now number one is keeping the city safe.” He added with a smirk, “pissing off Feral is just a bonus.”

Tawny laughed aloud. “Perhaps you don't see eye to eye with your commander, but that kat is still one of the best at what he does. He's uncorrupted which is not something a lot of folks with authority out here can boast.” She gave a thoughtful pause. “And really, without Feral doing what he did to you, there would never be any SWAT Kats. And you two would have never known just how far you could go.”

“Well they do say necessity is the soul of invention,” Jake countered lightly, though his expression was reflective as he mulled that thought over.

“Feral would shed himself bald if he knew he was the cause of the SWAT Kats,” Chance chuckled before downing his glass. “So can you tell me why it is we haven't seen a single fed since we got here? I'm pretty sure they know where we are.”  
  
"They won't come while you're still here," Tawny said. "They're afraid of you.”

“But they already know who we are,” Jake argued. “They're the ones holding all the cards. They could arrest us any time they wanted.”

“They could,” she agreed, “but they know better. Jake and Chance are normal citizens, subject to the same laws as everyone else. But Razor and T-Bone are something more. They are icons; a warning to all villainy that evil will not go unpunished. To put you two away, whether publicly or privately, would cause chaos. And they know it.”

Jake nudged her shoulder. “And where does Black Kat fit in all this?”

She allowed herself to lean against him ever so slightly. “She's still figuring that out. But you guys coming to my rescue may be a game changer.”

“We just told them you're under our protection-- a fellow masked kat who has our approval, huh?” Chance said.

She smirked at him. “Something like that. It's at least going to keep them off my back for a while as they try to figure out how to react to this new development.” Maybe that was Stone's plan all along.

Tawny leaned back on her palms, watching the first warm glow of sunlight spreading over her estate. Then she gazed heavenward, to where the lights were still trying to twinkle in the fading blue.

“Who knows, maybe they're watching us right now with their satellites. They don't know what to do with us, but they can't leave us alone either. Those bastards up there may be able to see who we are, but they don't know what it's like to put on the mask.”

Chance filled his glass a second time and raised it to the air. “To the mask. May we all be in it for the long haul.”

“I can drink to that,” Jake agreed. “Never regretted a day of it.”

Tawny was hesitant for a moment, then raised her glass. “Neither have I.” The other two glasses clanked against hers. “To the mask.”

 

**The End**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Thank you to everyone for reading. SWAT Kats was one of the first series I ever wrote fanfic for waaaaay back when I was a tiny Ty-Chou. Visiting them again after so many years was a lot of fun and very nostalgic. Thank you to anyone who took that ride with me. Right now, this is just a one shot, but maybe I'll write a sequel someday. Until then, let me know what you think of the story, now that it's done. Thanks again for anyone who read this fic! I appreciate it!


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